Seeping Darkness
by Baby Spaz Monkey
Summary: Kagome is a new student, but her new school seems very peculiar, but she has yet to realize how strange it really is and what's hiding in it.    I don't have talent with naming stories, but I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds
1. Chapter 1: Main Floor Door

_**Seeping Darkness**_

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own any characters of **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__**. All rights belong to the creator. Now that that is out of the way, begin my second fanfic.**_

**Chapter one: Main Floor Door**

Kagome looked up at her new school and described it as, well…unusual. She tucked her raven colored hair behind her left ear. She was a transfer student (a/n classic high school beginning XD) starting her third last year of high school; grade ten. She, personally didn't like transferring within the last four years, but she did want to finish high school, and she knew her mother and grandfather wanted it too.

Her family; which was her mother, grandfather, and her little brother: Souta, just moved to this peculiar town, and this place was a chore to move in to, but when her grandfather sets a goal, and is determined to complete that goal, it seems like nothing could stop him. So, needless to say, they got in. Her grandfather told town council that they were descended from a long line of priests and priestesses; which was actually true.

The shrine was vacant, so that's where they were now living. It was on a big hill which had a long line of stairs leading to the street. The grounds had the house; at the back, a storage shed, another shed with a well inside, and a tree. The council informed them that it was a sacred tree, which Kagome could tell, she felt a strong purity from it. Her other family members couldn't feel it, but it did have a calming effect on all of them.

Kagome was nervous beyond belief, but she gathered her courage, and walked through the front doors. She instantly went into a daze as she drifted towards the wall. No wonder why it was so hard to get into this town. There was quite a variety of auras. She felt plenty of your ordinary human energy; which was usually on the positive side, but she also felt unusually pure, as well as dark energy, and then there was just auras; not good or bad.

'_I wonder what that could be__…'_she thought as she slowly came to her senses. She walked down a hall that she assumed was the one that led to the main office. After receiving a handful of odd looks, okay there was more that a handful it was about 80% of the student body that gave her evil looks. _'__What__'__s their problem?__'_ Quickly brushing it off, deciding to aim for a better morning, she walked into the office.

Looking at the nameplate, she looked at the secretary, she had short black hair in a ponytail, exposing her dangly green beaded earrings. She was doing her paperwork with a blank expression.

"Um, Kagura Kaze… I'm Kagome Higurashi, I just transferred and I-"

"Yes, I know" she replied slapping a schedule on the desk in front of Kagome.

Kagome was surprised by both her attitude and her red eyes.

"Is there a problem? You should hurry to your first class" Kagura said. Kagome stiffened, grabbed her schedule and backpack, and raced out the door.

Kagura watched her leave, then she stood up and straightened out her suit and headed to the principal office. "Did the head of the council make a mistake? She's hardly worth it" Kagura complained.

"Yes, you know as well as I that he doesn't make mistakes" replied an elderly voice. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

The bell rang and Kagome made it to her first class just in time. She sighed and recalled her way to this class. The school was like a maze, so many hallways and whenever she asked directions, they would always ignore her.

She quickly went to an available seat. _'__Okay, enough with the weird looks, it__'__s kinda getting old.__'_

Her first class: history, was going pretty well, the only downside was the guy sitting next to her. He wasn't giving her the evil look, he was just staring. His black hair was in a ponytail. He had his elbow on his desk, and his head resting on his hand. Throughout class Kagome did her best to pay attention. When the class had about ten minutes left, a note landed on her desk. Kagome looked at the boy with a confused look, he just gave her a carefree smile. She shrugged and opened it up.

"I'm Jakotsu, who're you?"

Kagome smiled. Someone was finally trying to get to know her. She got out her pencil and started writing. "Kagome."

"Wow. You have a pretty name. What do you think of school so far?"

"Good, I guess. Do you know why everyone's been ignoring me?"

"You're new here. We don't normally get new kids."

"I'm a little worried for my brother…"

"You have a brother? How old is he? Is he cute?"

Kagome got the note back from an eager and excited Jakotsu. Well, now she knew why he seemed a little odd.

"…He's my little brother; grade seven."

"Awww, that's too bad. Watcha doing for lunch?"

Kagome giggled at his disappointment. At least her little brother wasn't a romantic target for her new friend.

"Nothing."

"Great. You'll eat with me, right?"

"Sure."

"Goodie. See you then."

As if on cue, the bell to end class rang, and Kagome and Jakotsu left their separate ways. Kagome looked down at her schedule and her next class was math. It wasn't too far away, so she didn't have any trouble finding it.

She got there with minutes to spare. She picked a desk, and pulled out her pencil and a notebook. It may have been odd, but her hobby was writing fantasy stories. The rest of the morning was spent either paying attention to rambling teachers, or writing in her notebook.

Lunch finally arrived, and not a moment too soon. Kagome navigated through the crowds and eventually found the cafeteria, and it was packed. Her shoulders slumped down.

"How will I find a place to sit…? Oh yeah, I was supposed to meet up with Jakotsu." After spying around the large room a bit she saw Jakotsu.

'_Heh, how could I possibly miss him?__'_ she thought with a smirk.

Jakotsu was standing on a chair, waving his arms up and down, and calling her name. Yup, there was no possible way she could miss him. She smiled and rushed over to him. Once close enough, she noticed the guy sitting next to the happy Jakotsu. He had black hair as well and it was longer that even hers. It was pulled back into a braid. This guy had also noticed Kagome.

"Kagome, this is my older brother: Bankotsu" said Jakotsu.

"So you're the new girl I've heard about" he started.

"Heard about? People are already talking about me?" she asked dumbly.

"Of course. Everyone talking about the new kid in the high school end and a new kid in the junior high end."

"Oh, I didn't know word-"

She was cut off by someone rubbing her butt. She let a short scream, slapped whoever it was and ran to the other side of the table to sit next to Jakotsu.

"Hey, Bankotsu. Why didn't you say anything about know a girl so beautiful?" said the pervert as if he didn't do anything.

This guy black hair tied back into a short thin ponytail, and purple-ish blue eyes. He looked at Kagome with a carefree smile, and sat down across from her. "So, What's your name?"

"…Kagome" she said quietly, avoiding eye contact. Actually trying to hide her face as it was now painted a red hue in embarrassment.

"Of course. A beautiful name, for a beautiful girl" he said that last part a bit seductively.

Kagome tried not to think too much about it and grabbed her lunch from her backpack. The other three followed her example. For the rest of the lunch they just had basic conversations.

After lunch she headed to her next class: Gym. On her way to the gymnasium she past the counsellors room. Just as she walked by, one of her seniors happily walked out of the room.

She had long red hair tied up in pigtails, and she had emerald green eyes. Kagome watched at her with a slightly surprised expression. This girl was almost squealing as she walked off.

Kagome shook her head at her and looked through the open counselling office. From what she could see, she noticed your average office things, a desk, a chair, a filing cabinet; or two, but what caught her attention the most was the door in the back.

Unlike the other school doors, this one was made of metal, and it had a heavy duty lock on it. But more than the overly suspicious door was the dark aura seeping from the door. _'What is that…?'_

"Can I help you?"

Kagome was pulled out of her daze and she looked up at the one who did that. He was tall, had dark skin, black hair in a high ponytail, pointed ears, and piercing blue eyes. His suit was kind of thrown off by the brown headband that he wore.

"Um, no. I need to get to class" she said turning to leave, but he called her back.

"Feel free to come by anytime. I'm the counsellor, Kouga" he said with a smirk.

"Okay, guess I'll see you around."

Kagome then quickly retreated to the gymnasium. Luckily, the first day of gym was just explaining the curriculum. Though she was usually an A+ student, in this school she had a hard time concentrating in her classes.

'_That door…I wonder what's behind it. Why's it locked?'_

"Kagome" the teacher said. Said girl looked to her left to see the person next to her handing her a pile of paper. "Oh." She grabbed the pile, took one and passed it along.

The rest of the day went just so. She kept wondering what was concealed behind the locked metal door in the counsellors office. Eventually, the final bell of the day rang and everyone left the class. Kagome grabbed her new papers, and assignments (A/N First day assignments T_T) and stuffed them in her book bag. She headed towards the front doors and just as she got there she heard her name.

"Miss Higurashi."

Kagome turned around to see an old woman with an eye patch. Her long thin hair tied back with a white ribbon.

"Uh, you're the…"

"Principal. You can call me Kaede" she finished. "I wanted to give you these." She handed Kagome a beaded necklace. Kagome took it and looked it over. It had black beads and every four beads was fang shaped beads. She looked at Kaede. "What're these for?" Kaede just smile.

"When the time comes, you'll know. Oh, and here, you should study this." The principal handed her a folded piece of paper. "The last thing I'll tell you is you need to think of a word. One of subjugation."

With that, the old woman turned and headed back to her office. Kagome watched her disappear into the crowd. She shifted her gaze to the necklace in her grasp. "Hmm" she said as she tilted her head to the side. _'…What'd she mean?'_

Only when someone rudely nudged her shoulder did she remember that she was standing like an idiot in the middle of the hall in front of the doors. She put the necklace in her pocket, and quickly turned towards the door and left.

After climbing the excessively long set of stair and making it to the top, Kagome stopped in front of the sacred tree and stared up at it. She recalled the dark aura from that metal door and the darkness from it.

"It was so dark. It wasn't very strong, but it was pure evil." She walked over the short wood fence and stood over its roots. She gazed up at its branches and put her hand on it. _'Feels good to be around this kind of purity.'_

She let out a pleasant sigh and left towards the house. When she opened the front door she was greeted by a happy Souta.

"Welcome back, sis"

"Hi Souta."

"How was your first day?" he asked.

She looked at him. Like it was as if it wasn't a normal day. "Odd, actually" she answered truthfully. "I did make a few friends, though."

"Really? Me too. I made three friends" he told her with his happiest face.

"I think it's safe to say that you had a good day" Kagome said with a snicker.

Souta smiled. "Almost as soon as the teacher introduced me my friend Shippo was the first to be my friend."

Kagome took her shoes off and as she walked by she patted her little brothers head. "Sorry, I have homework. We'll talk some other time." She walked past the kitchen and walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. Her room was faded purple, topping it off with light pink curtains.

Kagome put her book bag on top of her desk and sat in the chair in front of it. She sighed and opened a drawer. She took out a blue clicker pencil. She put it beside her book bag so she could retrieve her homework. Once her papers were out of the bag she put it on the floor next to the desk. She put the paper down and started working on it.

It wasn't very hard, at least not yet. The questions were all personal, so the teachers could 'get-to-know-you'. She was halfway through when she remembered there was a beaded necklace in her pocket. She took it out and looked it over again…and again and again.

"Ugh, Kagome what's with you today…?" she mumbled to herself then stowed it away in one of her desk drawers. She concentrated back on the easy homework.

When 9:30 rolled around she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed.

'_Maybe I'll go to the counsellors office tomorrow. I'd like to check out that door'_ she thought before sleep took her.

_**Longest. Chapter. I've. Ever. Written. Hoped you liked the chapter, or like the story so far. If you have chapter ideas, tell me, I'll see what I can do. Hopefully I'll have the second chapter up soon. And, Lastly, R & R. ^_^**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Sealed Room

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own any characters from **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__**. Okay Chapter 2 is now up. Enjoy it. LUV IT! XD **__**…**__**or just have your own opinion, that**__**'**__**s also good. T_T**_

**Chapter Two: The Sealed Room**

Her chocolate brown eyes fluttered open as the sun's rays filtered in. She looked towards her right to get a better look at the noisy piece of technology on her night stand. She dropped her hand on it, guessing she hit the 'snooze' button; she was successful. She groggily climbed out of bed, though to anyone else, it would have looked like she rolled off.

Still in a 'sleep-daze' Kagome pulled off her pajama shirt and pants, and got out a pale green t-shirt and dark brown-ish red skirt. She pulled one black socks that nearly went up to her knees, and a brown sweater. The temperature around this time of year was pretty warm, so she didn't bother taking a spring jacket; though mornings were still cold.

After getting dressed the teenager went to bathroom, and almost jumped back in fright after looking in the mirror. Her hair was in a horrid mess. She picked up her hair brush and put it to work. After much struggle with her mop of black, she was able to make it presentable. Next, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and did the other necessities.

She marched back to her bed room. She put her homework in her book bag as well as her writing utensils and, by complete chance, she noticed the folded piece of paper that principal Kaede gave her the previous day. She put her book bag over her shoulder and left her room.

Kagome unfolded the piece of paper and started to read it, except…it was in another language. She didn't know what it said, but read it over and over as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kagome… What are you reading?" her mother greeted with a kind smile.

"Morning. This is something I got from the principal" Kagome replied only looking up only to return the smile.

"Well, do you think you could put it down to eat breakfast?" her mom said as she served breakfast.

Kagome smiled at her and did as she asked. Not long after, her brother, Souta, came stomping down the stairs in a hurry. He gave a carefree smile, which earned a small giggle from their mother. Without further delay, the three of them began eating.

"Mom, its official" Kagome began. "You are the greatest cook."

Her mother had a slight blush from the flattery. "Thank you, dear" she replied with a smile.

Five minutes into their breakfast, the grandfather walked in with a certain shine in his eyes. _'He sure got into his role as head priest' _Kagome thought looking at his priest kimono.

"Look what I found in storage" he said as he put a clear glass jewel on the table. The gem attached to a long leather string that you could easily pull over your head. Kagome looked at the jewel. To her grandfather, mother, and brother it was clear glass, but to Kagome it was a pink-ish hue. That and it was overflowing with a pure aura.

"I thought the storage was empty" her mother said.

"Well, most of the things, yes. Most of the items left have seals on them, but this is one of the only; if not the only item without them" he replied.

"…Hey, grandpa, do you think I could hold onto it?" Kagome asked. She knew she had spiritual power, more so than the rest of her family, she was probably just lucky.

"Sure, but be careful with it, it is made of glass" her grandfather answered stretching the 'is'.

'_Either he doesn't care that much about it, or he knows I'm responsible enough' _Kagome thought with a grin on her face.

Soon she was out the door and on her way to school with the necklace string in her grasp.

"Hey Kagome, wait for me" her brother called while pulling on his backpack.

Kagome stopped and put on the necklace. She tucked it under her shirt because she knew it really wasn't at the height of fashion. After her brother caught up they were trekking down the stairs. All the while Kagome was feeling a surge of pure energy, she just assumed it was the jewel's unusual purity.

While walking on the sidewalk a car slowed, driving slowly along the curb. The passenger window rolled down, revealing a familiar driver; it was Miroku.

"Kagome, hop in I'll give you a ride" he said with a smile, then it looked like he noticed something.

"Sorry, I'm walking my brother there" she said mentally thanking her brother for being her excuse for not riding with a pervert.

"You sure?" he asked hoping she'd change her mind.

"Yeah."

"Kay. See you there." He drove off while Kagome waved.

"Sis, who was that?" Souta looked up at her curiously.

"A friend" she said.

"Then, why didn't you go with him?"

Kagome couldn't answer him. If she told him 'it's because he's a pervert' she knew Souta would ask her why she's friends with a pervert. So she merely smiled at him. When the pair got to an intersection, while Kagome was looking both ways (A/N that's right, play it safe (lol that kinda sounded corny)) she heard Souta yell: "Kohaku."

Kagome looked at him, surprised by him suddenly yelling. "Who's 'Kohaku'?" she asked. Souta pointed down the other path away from the school and Kagome looked. She saw a boy with black hair, also in a ponytail that was mid-length. From what she could tell he was about a foot taller than Souta.

He was walking with, she was assuming, his sister. She didn't look that much older than herself. After they reached Kagome and Souta, the younger boy looked up at Kagome.

"I'll walk with him the rest of the way." With that said the two boys raced ahead.

'_Traitor'_ Kagome thought while glaring at Souta's back.

"Wanna walk with me? Seeing as my brother ditched me as well." Kagome looked at the young woman. Her hair was black, though almost brown, and it was tied at the bottom. She had brown eyes, much like her own, and she was wearing dark pink eye shadow.

"Alright" Kagome answered with a smile. "I'm Kagome, by the way."

"Sango, nice to meet you." They continued walking.

"Are you in my grade?" Kagome asked starting your basic conversation.

"You in grade 11?"

"Guess not. No, I'm in grade 10." Kagome was looking forward, so she didn't notice Sango's eyes narrow slightly.

"Hey Kagome… Have you ever heard of the 'Shikon Jewel'?" Sango asked with a slightly dark tone.

"No" Kagome answered. Then she suddenly remembered the glass jewel that was found in storage and was now around her neck. "Oh, do you mean th-" Kagome's eyes widened when she pulled out the leather string that was attached to the jewel…or at least, it was. She expected to find a pretty pink gem, but instead she found a knot. Where the leather was tied together. The jewel was gone.

"I thought so." Kagome looked at Sango. The younger girl's face was a look of fright and curiosity.

Sango put on a small grin. "We should go see the principal" she said.

After walking through the front doors, Kagome once again got a series of looks, but they weren't evil look that pretty much said 'what is she doing here?' instead they were more of less saying 'wow' or 'whoa'. Instead of ignoring her or shunning her, people were actually moving aside, getting out of the way of the two of them.

On the way, Kagome kept hearing faint whispers like 'Do you feel that power?' and 'They make such a powerful pair'. Honestly, Kagome had no idea what they were talking about.

Entering the office, Sango only said: "We're going to see principal Kaede." After that, Kagura was ignored, not that she cared much, she didn't make much of an effort to stop them.

"Ah. Good morning, Sango. Hello again Kagome" Kaede said looking up from her paperwork. "Oh, I see. There seems something different about you, child."

Kagome looked down at her body. Aside from her clothes, there really wasn't a visible difference from yesterday to today. _'Actually, now that I think about it, ever since grandpa found that jewel I've been feeling…different' _she thought.

"The Shikon Jewel…" the old woman started. She looked at Kagome wither her one eye and smiled. "You have it, don't you?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "My grandpa found this glass ball this morning-"

"And to you it was a different color?" Sango interrupted.

"Yes…how'd you…"

"Heh. I can see your glow. It's very similar to my sister's"

*Ahem* Came a voice from the doorway. "Class has already started" Kagura said from where she stood.

"Really? I didn't hear it" Kagome blurted in a slight panic.

"You can't hear the bell in here. Don't worry, I'll come and excuse your late" smiled Kaede.

"Let's meet up again" Sango said as they walked down the hall. Kagome agreed and soon they were both at their scheduled class.

It wasn't long for a note appeared on her desk. "Where were you?"

"Principal's office." Kagome passed it back to Jakotsu, but he didn't send it back to her.

'_I would think that he had more to say'_ Kagome thought.

Looking at the flamboyant boy next to her, she noticed him looking her over. Not just him either, the whole class was sneaking peeks at her. _'More looks. I wonder if it's from the jewel.'_

The same thing happened in math, she was beginning to think that no one in this school had a life of their own.

Lunch. As of now it was her favourite time of the day. She was heading to where she was sitting the previous day, where Jakotsu and his brother: Bankotsu were.

"Hey, Kagome." Said girl heard from not too far away. She looked around for the source and found Sango.

Sango pushed her way through the crowd. Early in the lunch hour the door area was always crowded, at least it was today and the day before. Kagome greeted her new friend with one of her cheerful smiles.

"You have a place to sit?" Sango asked.

"Actually, yes" she answered.

"Oh. Then I'll sit with you."

"Won't the people you were already sitting with be offended if you abandoned them?" Kagome asked.

Sango sighed. "I guess I should go tell them what I'll be doing. Be right back." Sango quickly hurried back to where her lunch was. She was with two girls, younger by the looks of it, and they didn't seem to mind that Sango was leaving. Sango ran back to where Kagome was. "So. Where were you sitting?"

"Over this way" Kagome answered leading the way.

They got to the table, and Jakotsu and Bankotsu were already seated. Kagome quickly took her seat, not wanting yesterday's embarrassment to happen again. Sango on the other hand was taking her time. It wasn't long for her bootie to get grabbed by a certain male.

Sango yelped, but didn't move. Her eyes were wide and her face was a beautiful shade of red. She rigidly turned her head to look at the culprit. When her eyes finally locked on her target, her eyes narrowed in fury.

"Lecherous Monk!" She screamed as her fist came up and nailed him in the face.

"Monk?" Kagome questioned turning Jakotsu, decided that she should wait a few seconds, or minutes for Sango.

"Yeah. Most of the people that go to this school can tell what kind of bloodline others have. Your new friend seems to be one of those people" he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sango, in a huff, angrily took her seat across from Kagome and sat down. All the while mumbling words of hatred towards the monk who was now on the floor with quite a noticeable bump on his face which made him dizzy beyond belief.

Jakotsu pointed to Sango. "She's a Demon Slayer" he started then moved on to the rest of the gang. "That hottie on the floor is a monk. My brother and I are descended from bandits; we're really good too" he said with a smile. "And from what we can tell, you're a priestess" he finished with a 'hmm' look.

Kagome's mouth was open. Quite honestly she was dumbfounded. "Wait. Monks? Demons? Bandits? Slayers?" her friends looked at her like she was stupid. They looked at themselves then at her. "You didn't know?"

"Do Demons really exist?"

"Yes. The counsellor is a demon" Bankotsu answered.

"Kouga's a demon?" Kagome asked dumbly.

"I can see this is gonna take a while" said Bankotsu.

After much persuasion…

"So nobody outside of this town believes demons, bandits, and slayers exist anymore is because all here and the counsel keeps it a secret" Kagome said finally getting it.

"Yes" said Miroku, who was now sitting next to a very vigilant Sango.

'_Hmm. Getting by Kouga will be harder than I thought…'_ "Hey, does anyone know what's behind that locked door in the counsellor's office?" Kagome asked.

Everyone started to ponder. "Nobody knows" said Jakotsu.

"Except for the teachers" Bankotsu corrected.

"Why do you want to know, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

Kagome stiffened a little. "Just curious."

The bell rang, and the large student body began exiting the cafeteria slowly. _'Alright. Here I go.'_ Kagome walked to the counsellor's office at a moderate pace. She finally got there with four minutes left until her next class started. _'Perfect.' _The door was open, and Kagome knocked on it anyway, quickly earning the demons attention.

"Ah. You came back, huh?" he said.

"Yes. Um, Mr…" Kagome peeked at the nameplate. "Ookami"

"Just Kouga is fine" the counsellor chuckled.

"Well, um, Kouga. In my last school, it was recommended that we see the counsellor regularly, like once every few days."

"Oh, I see. Sure have a seat, uh…"

"Kagome" she said as she pranced in and sat down in the seat on the opposite side of the room. Not a moment later the bell to begin the next class went. _'And action.'_

"Oh, guess I can't talk to you today. Aw, now I'm late for class. My second day, the teacher's not gonna be happy…" Kagome pouted. It looked like her plan was working, because Kouga was wearing a concerned expression.

"Don't worry, Kagome. I'll go excuse you from your class. Which one was it?"

"Gym" she said with a smile.

"Gotcha." With that, he left.

As soon as she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, she jumped up and raced to the door. The lock really was heavy duty. It was one of the really old kinds, plus it had chains covering it. Kagome reached for it to get a better look, but as soon as she touched it, the lock snapped open, and the chains fell off. She only prayed that no one heard it. She then wrapped her hands around the handle and pulled it.

'_This is heavier than it looks. Well actually, it looks about right.'_

With much heaving and straining she got it open enough for her to fit through. It was dark, but she figured she could use the light of the office until she found a light switch. Wrong. Once she entered, the door closed behind her. _'Creepy. Well, no turning back now.'_

She put her hand along the wall as she slowly walked down the stairs. She could feel that the walls were covered with vines. Not too much further, buds attached to the vines began to glow. Kagome could only describe this as 'convenient'. When she reached the bottom her path split. She looked from left to right. Thinking only very little she decided to go right.

Kagome looked down the walls, noticing that amount of vines was increasing, and the temperature was dropping. It wasn't long before she started shivering. At the end of the path was yet another door. But this one was different. Sure the idea of a lock was vastly different, but the feeling was different. She could sense a pure aura. There was ice bordering the door, and vines lacing themselves across it. Getting closer, she could sense the pure energy flowing through the vines.

'_I wonder what the school is hiding in there…'_ she thought as she grabbed the door handle. The vines quickly retreated so the door could be opened.

As soon as she opened it she was in awe. She saw a boy. He looked about her age too. He was clad in red, and he had silver hair. He was help up on the wall by vines supporting his limps and torso, and if that wasn't enough, he was in ice. The only part of him that wasn't in the ice was his head and upper torso. Kagome easily sensed the pure energy flowing within the vines as well as the ice.

Kagome's eyes were drawn to the top of the boys head. Dog ears. And a cute pair too. She would've gone to touch them, but she could reach, and there was ice in the way. Reluctantly tearing her eyes from his ears she studied his face. _'He_ _looks so peaceful. Maybe the vines on him will do the same thing they did at the door' _she thought as she reached out to them. But to her dismay, she was horribly wrong.

In addition to not working in the slightest, they also injured her hand. She gave a yelp and yanked her hand away. She stared wide eyed at the boy. At least until she heard screeching noises, which made her head turn with a look of horror plastered on her face. Kagome looked up at the dog eared boy again.

'_I'll think of a way to get you out of here.'_ Not wasting another second, Kagome bolted out the door.

"Kikyo…" came an unheard voice through grit teeth.

She fell half way up. It wasn't a case of clumsiness, something had her ankle. She turned her head in horror to find a ghoulish gargoyle creature starting to pull her back down. That was it.

Kagome let out a loud scream that would probably deafen a blind man. It had no effect on the creature though. As it pulled the helpless girl down at an increasing speed, Kagome clawed around hoping to find something to grab onto. Success. The ever present vines. She was holding on for dear life. As each vine snapped, she quickly grabbed another. Tears streaming down her face.

In a flash, the door at the top of the stairs opened and her leg was released. She didn't care who her rescuer was, she was free, and she booked it for the door. As she headed for the door she could hear screeches of pain, she assumed were from the creature. A few moments later her rescuer was up and had the door closed in a snap.

It was Kouga, and he wasn't too pleased with her. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to either, she knew what she did wrong. Kagome still had a tear stained face, wide eyes, and she was breathing heavy. After a long pause, Kouga started to speak.

"You're smarter than I took ya for."

Kagome looked up at him in surprise. She fully expected him to start screaming at her. Instead he was commenting on how smart she was? Something had to have been wrong.

"Nearly every student in this school has been curious about this door. You're the first to check it out for yourself" he said in an impressed manner.

Kouga noticed her shivers, and the fact that she was breathing heavily. He sighed. "Wait here, I'll get you a glass of water."

Kagome glanced at the metal door and back at Kouga. He chuckled.

"Don't worry. Nothing's comin' outta that door." Leaving the room and the girl in it, he headed to the office to inform Kaede on what just happened.

Kagome sat on her previous seat and stared at her knees worriedly. She bawled her hands into fist on them, and blushed. _'I bet I must've looked so stupid.'_ She covered her face with her hands. "How embarrassing" she mumbled.

When Kouga returned, Kagome had already calmed down a lot. He handed her a bottle of water and she had taken it without hesitation.

"I think you should head home for the rest of the day" Kouga said after Kagome had taken a few gulps.

Kagome got up. "…Okay." He was the counsellor, he was probably right. She didn't want to show her face to anyone today anyway. She left the office with her head hung, and headed for her locker. Removing her book bag her face was downcast. Aside from being scared out of her wits, she was humiliated. One of the teachers saw her in quite the vulnerable position. Walking out of the school she looked at her hands. Her fingers had a slightly greenish hue, and there were pieces of vine under her fingernail.

'_I hope mom doesn't ask me about this…'_

She dropped her arms along her side and continued her unusually long way home. Arriving at her family's shrine, she walked to the sacred tree and sat at its roots, dozing off. Half an hour later she decided to go inside. Her mother was already there to greet her.

"Your teacher phoned. He said you had a rough time at school."

'_To put it lightly, yes, I had a rough time'_ Kagome thought drooping her shoulders.

"You look tired, dear. Why don't you go upstairs to rest" her mom suggested.

"Thanks mom" Kagome said with a weak smile.

Kagome trudged up the steps, dropped her bag in the middle of her bedroom floor, and fell face first on her bed. She looked over to her alarm clock and carried her arm to set it. She didn't want to go back so soon, but she did want to graduate. Before long she fell asleep.

_**There, chapter 2 is done. If it's not too much trouble, R & R please.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Friends House

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own any characters of the show or series **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__**.**_

_**Terribly sorry for the wait; I put up two chapters for you to sort of make up for it. Sorry.**_

**Chapter Three: Friends House**

Kagome woke up as usual to her alarm clock. Though this morning was different. It would usually take a lengthy series of 'beeps' from her alarm clock to wake her up. Today it only took about five of said beeps, then she distinctively heard a crunch of sorts. Her eyes opened a few moments later, but she still couldn't see anything. Her world was a blur.

As far as she could tell at the moment, her room was normal. _'__Huh?__'_ her eyes landed on a fairly large mass of red on her desk. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eye to better her vision. When she opened her eyes once again the red was no longer on her desk. No, in fact it was standing in front of her; glaring at her.

'_That__'__s the guy who was in the basement. He was in the ice__'_ she thought in surprise.

His dog ears were flattening against his head in rage, and he was cracking his knuckles; waiting for her to provoke him to use them.

Kagome just stuck to the basic question. "Who're you?"

As much as she tried to lower the tension in her bedroom, it seemed she only furthered his anger.

"Are you trying to be stupid, Kikyo? 'Cause it's not workin'!" He shouted at her.

"Who's Kikyo?" Kagome asked looking up at him.

"Now yer just tryin' to piss me off!" he said grabbing her collar and violently removing her from her bed.

Kagome grabbed his wrist in an attempt to remove it from her shirt. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"If yer thinking of beggin' for my forgiveness, Kikyo, it's not gonna happen" he hissed.

Kagome didn't know what to do. Obviously, talking to him wasn't going to work, at least not with him like this. Her eyes darted around her room and finally landed on her desk. The beaded necklace. It's a good thing she memorized that foreign spell.

"What're ya looking at, Kikyo. I'm right here!" That was her cue to start. She began to recite the spell. Hoping she was getting all the word right, she spoke them as fast as she could.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a hint of worry. He could see it because he was facing away from her dresser. Kagome saw the drawer light up as she spoke and it quickly opened enough for light to shoot out of it. Finally finishing, the balls of light had circled the boy's throat and the light died down to reveal the beaded necklace.

At this point he had let go of her and took a few steps back. He was looking down at the beads curiously.

'_Is that what it__'__s supposed to do?__'_

Deciding that he didn't really need to worry about it, he looked at Kagome with the same fury that he had before, except now he was once again cracking his knuckles and raising them to his face.

"Nice trick, Kikyo. But it's not gonna save ya" he said darkly.

Quite honestly, he was starting to get on her nerves. Kikyo this, Kikyo that.

"Kagome."

He stopped and looked at her in confusion, but still holding the angry look.

"My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me."

He scoffed. "If you're not Kikyo, then why do you smell like her…wait a second" his look changed entirely. He was now concentrating.

"This is Kikyo's scent…" he mumbled. He stopped inches in front of her. He raised a clawed hand and found the leather string around her neck, and ripped it off. He held it close to his face and sniffed it. Then he looked at Kagome, sniffing in her direction.

"…You're not her…"

"Well, duh" Kagome said.

"W-well of course. Idiot. Kikyo was much cuter" he said sticking his nose up in the air.

"Excuse me?" Kagome tightened her hands into fists and were trembling in pure anger.

'_The nerve of this guy. Come__'__s into my room and insults me?__'_ "Get. Out." she ordered through grit teeth.

"No. Why should I?" he said arrogantly.

"_The last thing I'll tell you is you need to think of a word. One of subjugation." _

Kagome looked up at his dog ears and narrowed her eyes.

"Sit" she hissed.

His face hammered to the floor in a rather painful manner. Once he was able to separate his face from her floor, he sat up and grabbed the cursed beads with both hands and tried his best to remove them. Every time they would glow in protest.

"What the heck did ya do to me?" he shouted.

"Who do you think you are? You come to my home and threaten and insult me? You're such a jerk!" Kagome only hoped her family didn't hear her uncontrollable explosion.

Finally freeing himself he jumped to his feet so she wasn't glaring down at him anymore. "Where did you get this?" he asked holding up the leather string to her face.

Kagome only crossed her arms. "Why aren't you answering me?" he asked.

"Why should I?"

"You'll answer me or I'll sharpen my claws on you" he flexed his claws once again to prove he wasn't joking.

"Sit"

Kagome groaned at the sight of her alarm clock, or pile of metal strips and gears and other pieces of it. Realizing that she still had school, she hastily gathered up her bag that was left on the floor the previous day, and rushed out of her room.

Her mother, grandfather, and brother all heard her heavy footsteps. "Souta? Why aren't you at school?" Kagome asked in a rushed tone.

"School was cancelled today."

"The third day and it was cancelled? That's weird."

She put her book bag on the floor near the door and left without it. Even if there wasn't school today, she didn't want to be in her home right now because of her unwelcome guest. _'Great'_ she thought when she opened the front door. It was raining; not your mere drizzle either, it was coming down hard. This made her question how long that guy was in her room, because the ground was already soaked. She grabbed a rain coat that was hanging on one of the hooks next to the door. Putting it on, she stormed out of the house.

About halfway down the legion of stair she noticed Kouga: her counsellor, and Kaede: her principal, coming up the stairs, with mildly concerned expressions.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Kouga started.

Having calmed down on sight of the two answered them. "Yeah. Why?"

"Well, something got out of the-"

"Hey, you! I didn't say you could leave!" Kagome's anger had returned

"It's Inuyasha" Kaede said in surprise of his sudden appearance over the top of the stairway. Kouga quickly took his battle stance.

"It's KAGOME" she screamed as she turned to face him.

As Inuyasha was quickly closing the distance, Kagome clenched her fists and glared daggers at him. "SIT!"

Inuyasha, who was in mid leap, plummeted to the concrete stairs at an alarming speed. Kouga and Kaede started wide-eyed at the little scene in front of them. They were at a loss for word. They came here to protect her from the potential threat only to realize that the girl was taking good care of herself.

At this point, Kagome didn't want to talk to anyone in the angry state she was in, so she marched down the stairs, and continued down the sidewalk.

Kouga and Kaede approached the crater made by Inuyasha's body, and stared down at it. Kouga had honourable duty of peeling him from the hole.

"Inuyasha. Do you remember me?" Kaede asked standing in front of him.

"Should I?"

"I am Kikyo's younger sister: Kaede."

"You? No. You're too old" Inuyasha said in all doubts.

"Inuyasha, it has been 50 years since you've been sealed. Since Kikyo passed on."

"Now we have to take you to the head of the council so he can figure out what to do with you" Kouga said from behind him.

Inuyasha looked at him with slight horror, but mostly he was insulted by the very idea. "There's no way I'm gonna go see him!"

"You don't really have a choice" Kouga opposed.

Inuyasha leapt away before the disagreement escalated to a fight. Kouga was about to follow after him but Kaede stopped him.

"The head of the council isn't ready to hear of this anyway. Let's wait and see what happens first."

Inuyasha wasn't ready to give up questioning the girl. _'She's the spitting image of Kikyo'_ he thought remembering her angry face._ 'She's nothing' like her though.' _Jumping off rooftop after rooftop he finally found her. He decided not to approach her, for fear of this 'sit' command of hers. He really didn't want to kiss the hard ground again.

Kagome was now in a more populated area. Little shops and stands were all over the place. She spied a stand that sold charms. She walked up to it and browsed its wares. The majority of the products were made of metal. This was definitely a unique town. Even the items sold at the smallest shop were emanating either a pure, dark, or neutral aura. The ones at this particular shop were neutral. She picked up one that looked like an arrow.

"Excuse me, how much is this one?" she asked the shop clerk.

The old man looked at her with his large beady eyes. Kagome assumed he was a demon. "That'll be 20 dollars" said a voice that didn't come from the old man. (a/n I don't know dollars to yen off hand, sorry) Kagome looked towards the man's left shoulder and stopped on a little flea. She was startled, to say the least, but she quickly brushed it off as 'normal' for this place.

She handed the man the money and turned to leave. She bumped into someone, and it seemed that she was the only one affected by it.

"Totosai. I thought I recognized yer stench."

Kagome looked up at the one who said the harsh words, and it was none other than Inuyasha. Instead of instantly getting mad or even walking away, she stayed and listened to him. It was possibly that he had learned his lesson on not to disrespect someone he barely knew.

"Master Inuyasha!" cried a happy voice that leaped at the guys face.

With a straight face, Inuyasha slapped his nose. "You're here too, Myoga" he said holding his hand in front of himself as said flea floated down.

"You know the flea?" Kagome asked leaning over to get a better look at the squashed parasite.

"Yeah. The last time I saw him was a little over 50 years, I guess."

"So you haven't found the Tessaiga, yet" the old man, Totosai, said.

Inuyasha glared at him. "You know where it is?"

"Oh of course, but _I_ can't get it out" he said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Then who can?" Inuyasha yelled quickly losing his temper.

"Uhh…I don't know…" he replied scratching his head.

"Gr, then can you at least tell me where it is?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You can't get it out either, so what's the point of knowing when you're not ready?"

Kagome, realizing that she really wasn't needed, left as the two continued talking. Smiling down at it, she put the arrow keychain on her jacket zipper. Even though it was still raining she was feeling significantly better.

"Kagome" called a familiar voice. Kagome turned her head to see Sango. She approached Kagome with grocery bags in each hand.

"Hi Sango" Kagome smiled.

She walked beside her new friend on the sidewalk with her hands in her pockets.

"Not that it's really any of my business, but where were you yesterday afternoon? I was looking forward to walking home with you."

Kagome thought back. Images of the grotesque gargoyle creature flashed in her mind. The memory sent shivers up and down her spine.

"You cold?" Sango asked, thinking the shivers were from the low temperature.

"Y-yeah" Kagome said with a smile.

"Why don't you come to my house? My brother is going to yours to hang out with your brother."

"Oh, sure, but I'll have to phone to make sure it's okay with my mom."

"Oh, yeah, that's completely understandable."

At Sango's house, the two were happily greeted by Sango's father. They hung up their raincoats so they wouldn't drip all over the floor. While Sango was directed to put away the groceries, Kagome was lead to the phone. Kagome dialled the numbers.

"Hello?" said a pleasant voice.

"Hi mom, it's Kagome."

"Oh, Kagome. Are you alright? You left the house rather quickly." Concern was heard in her voice. That was just like her though, she had a heart big enough to carry the world.

"I'm fine. I'm at Sango's right now. Kohaku's older sister."

"Alright. That's fine. Thank you for telling me."

"Okay. Bye mom."

"Goodbye. Have fun, Kagome."

After hanging up the phone, Kagome explored the house until she found Sango. She was headed to the phone to get Kagome, so there wasn't much of a distance between the two. They went to the living room on the other side of the house, while her parents went out.

For more than a few hours, they talked, each telling stories. Kagome talked about her old friends that she was struggling to keep in touch with, and the boring life outside of this place. Sango was explaining life in the town, what she had to do to maintain respect, and to keep herself safe. If you wandered into the wrong end of town, and didn't know how to defend yourself, you were pretty much screwed. She assured Kagome that nothing would happen to her as long as she was around.

Once they got bored they put on a movie. The genres were all over the place, but there was enough horror and suspense to keep the girls at the edge of their seats. The movie reminded Kagome of her own horrifying experience, and when the movie, she didn't feel the slightest at ease.

"Did you hear that?" Sango said, dramatically turning her head to the window.

Naturally, the color had drained from Kagome's face in fright. Her hands started to shake, but they stopped when she heard Sango laughing.

"I was just kidding. You don't have to be so tense" she said through giggles.

Kagome put a hand on her chest in an attempt to calm down her heart.

"Gee Kagome. I didn't know you were that jumpy."

"I'm usually not" Kagome tried to convince.

"Sure, hey I'm going to get something we can much on for the next movie. Unless, you want to go home."

"No, I don't think my mom will mind if I stay longer."

"Alright" and Sango left to do what she said.

Kagome slouched in her seat and sighed. _'Nothing's coming out of that door'_ she thought trying to bring comfort to her mind. But all words disappeared from her mind when she heard a noise from the backyard through the open window behind her. She went as pale as a sheet, her eyes widened, and her breathing was getting shallower by the second.

As if hearing something move through the grass wasn't enough to spook her, she faintly heard someone say: "The key..." that sent chills throughout her entire body.

She turned her head just in time to see a fleshy color leave the sight of the window. She squeaked. Like all horror movies, she knew that the 'monster' was stalking her, thinking of how to approach her. She thought it was going to do this routine for a little while longer, but apparently she was horribly wrong. It shoved in its ugly head through the open window. Kagome screamed at the sight of it.

Its skin was a dark gray, it had beady, black eyes, long black hair and the skin around the mouth was pulled back to reveal a horrid arrangement of teeth; each like the fangs of a snake. From what the high school girl could tell, the creature: appearing female, crawled on its belly, like a snake, or to be more exact; a centipede. It also had six arms. Like bugs weren't creepy enough, Kagome now had a whole new definition of it.

Its eyes focused on Kagome and once again repeated itself. "The key..." it said awkwardly; due to the lack of lips. It slowly dragged itself inside. It wouldn't have wasted any time getting to her, but she was just too big and was having difficulty.

Kagome jumped off the couch, or rather fell off, and crab walked away from it as fast as she could. A small part of her mind was wondering where Sango was, but the majority was too concerned with the 'too-ugly-to-describe-further' creature coming for her.

Despite her fears, she attempted to reason with it to either get it to forget her or stall for time until someone came to save her.

"W-why are you after m-me?" She couldn't help but think of an old famous quote that went along the lines of _'...they can smell fear just by lookin' at ya'_, amusing, yes, but not helpful.

"The key."

'_Is this thing a broken record, or what?'_

"What key?"

"The key must be destroyed." Without wasting any more time, it was inside enough to lunge at her.

Well her idea to stall for time failed miserably. Now her instincts were screaming at her to get away to safety. They were right, so she turned to the side in a sprint position. Her hands on the floor to push her body up, but the action came too late.

"Gah!" Kagome cried as the monsters fangs sunk into her side.

It placed its legs on the outside wall of the large home to pry its upper body out, dragging Kagome along with its unusually strong jaws. Not giving up, Kagome, too, braced herself on the wall, refusing to go out, but mostly because exiting through the 42 in. by 42 in. window by her stomach would cause a great deal of pain, or just plainly snap her spine.

Learning from this, the centipede woman decided to take an easier approach. The centipede half was used to break through the surrounding wall. Now Kagome was easily brought outside. After being in the tight grip of its jaws, the flesh on her side was ripped open and the speed its head flung back sent Kagome into the air as blood leaked from her vulnerably open side.

She would have been crying and screaming, but she was still in shock. This could possibly be the worst experience she's ever had. The hard impact of the ground was increasingly painful. She did her best to roll over and crawled on her elbows dragging her lower half in the process away. She was losing strength fast.

An echo of an _'Iron reaver, Soul stealer'_ made her risk looking back. Two of the arms were on the ground. The centipede woman was howling in pain from the loss. And the one responsible, clad in red, was none other than Inuyasha.

Inuyasha wasn't really the type to go around saving people; in this case he was only saving her because she still had a use to him. The demon lowered her body to regenerate. Her reluctantly discarded arms started to wriggle, and as the stumps of arm came close the snapped back on; like two magnets attracted to each other.

The centipede demon glared at Inuyasha, he, in turn, grinned and flexed his bloodied hand. She rushed towards him like she had done to Kagome earlier. Inuyasha stood his ground in a battle stance. He had his clean hand in front. When she was close enough, Inuyasha threw his bloodied, clawed hand at the centipede woman's face, successfully slicing it in half and proceeding through the rest of the lengthy body.

Kagome was behind Inuyasha and was thankful that she was. The two halves of the demon fell on either side of her, 'course they were each about three feet away. Inuyasha turned and approached Kagome.

Sango never heard Kagome's squeak, but she did hear the scream, followed by the destruction of her house. She had dropped the snacks and sodas and rushed to the family 'vault'. It wasn't like a vault in a bank, but it was the best they could do. Besides, those who wanted to break in this room would have been repelled by the seals and spells protecting it.

She opened it as fast as she could, but being a little flustered at the moment she fumbled with the lock a few times. In other cases she would have just broken it off, but here that wouldn't end well. Finally opening it, she withdrew her signature weapon: Hiraikotsu. A large boomerang made entirely of bone.

Carrying the heavy weapon with ease, she ran through the halls. Finally arriving on the scene, she saw Kagome laying on her back and a huge gash on her side. She immediately noted all the blood that poured out, and was amazed that the girl was still conscious.

"You tried to escape from me? Don't think you're getting off that easy. I can find you anywhere."

Sango's eyes focused on Inuyasha, his claws dripping with blood. She put two and two together: completely ignoring the centipede demons remains, and hurriedly stepped outside. She hurled the boomerang at him, announcing its name loudly.

Inuyasha, hearing the 'battle cry' leapt away so as not to get hit by it. Though it didn't hit him, Sango didn't think it was a waste of a shot, she got him away from Kagome. Sango rushed to her friend's side after catching the Hiraikotsu.

"What the heck is yer problem?" Inuyasha yelled in full irritation.

Sango glared at him. "Excuse me? You attacked Kagome!"

"No, Sango" came Kagome's strained whisper.

Sango looked down at her weak friend. Kagome pointed to the forgotten centipede woman.

"Oh..." Sango said.

"He saved me..."

"Keh. It's not like I did it for you. You still have a question to answer" Inuyasha scoffed.

Kagome could hear his arrogant words fade. Her eyelids were getting unbelievably heavy. She blinked a few times, trying her best to stay awake. But all efforts proved in vain, her eyes closed and every sound faded.

She woke up hours later. She still felt very weak, but she had enough strength to sit up. The blanket on her rolled off her torso, and she found that she wasn't wearing the same clothes that she came with. She was in a blue button up shirt and matching pants. Kagome assumed that they were pyjamas.

She winced. Kagome lifted the shirt a little and saw that she was wrapped up in bandages. _'So that did happen'_ she thought wishing it was just a nightmare.

"Hey. How long are ya gonna keep holding up yer shirt?"

Quickly noting that it was a male speaking, she squealed and pulled her shirt back down. She looked at Inuyasha who was sitting in the corner with his hands in either of his sleeves. Her face was red, but that didn't stop her from speaking.

"Why are you here?"

"You haven't answered my question" he said calmly getting up and walking to the bedside.

"Question?"

Inuyasha held up the leather string and Kagome's jaw slightly dropped.

"You've been on my case all day long because you want to know where I got that string...?" Kagome didn't know how to describe this situation other than stupid.

"Yeah. You gonna tell me or what?"

Kagome's eye twitched, but gave in, in favour of some peace of the obnoxious fellow. She closed her eyes.

"Yes, but you're not going to like my answer." Inuyasha stayed silent. "That string was attached to a jewel that was found in a storage shed on our shrine."

"That's it?" Inuyasha asked, positive there was more.

"Yup. You wasted your time."

At this point Sango came in with three glasses of water. "Ah, Kagome. You're awake. I called your house. I told them that you'll be staying the night, so don't overexert yourself." Sango handed a glass to Kagome, who took it happily.

"Half breed" She said getting Inuyasha's attention.

"Don't call me that!" he growled.

"Be happy that I'm letting you even stand in this room. Very few with demon blood are allowed to enter our home."

"Humph." Inuyasha left the house in a huff.

"The jerk" Sango pointed out.

Kagome giggled at her friends blunt opinion then gulped down the water. She painfully leaned back on the bed.

"So what now?" Kagome asked.

"Now, you rest." Sango turned the light off and left Kagome to sleep.

If Kagome could turn on her side, she would've, but the pain was too great. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stop thinking of Inuyasha. What did Sango mean by 'half breed'? Why was he so bothered by the leather string? Why was he in the basement of the school? She came to the conclusion that pondering now was useless, so she closed her eye, and almost immediately she fell asleep.

_**Chapter 3 is up now. If you have any opinion, please R & R.**_


	4. Chapter 4: Curious Dreams

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'t own any of these characters. 'Inuyasha' belongs to the creator of the series.**_

_**Writers block is the enemy of all authors...heh heh.**_

**Chapter Four: Curious Dreams**

'_Kagome...'_

'_Who...? Who is that?'_

'_Kagome.'_

Her name echoed throughout her mind. As she slept, this foreign voice made her physical body toss and turn in her sleep. "What...do you want...?" Kagome wasn't really much of a sleep-talker, but right now she mumbled vague questions.

A pair of golden eyes watched the sleeping figure. _'What's she talkin' about?'_ he thought while tilting his head to the side. Inuyasha sat out of the house in a tree in the back yard. The house only had one floor, so the half demon was looking down into the dark room. _'Why am I still here?'_

Kagome woke up when the first rays of sun painted the sky. She looked out the window and saw the clean light glisten off the morning dew that was on the nearby tree. She scanned around the room and came to an important realization.

"This isn't my house" she said in surprise, sitting up. She curled over in pain, placing her hands on her side to cover her bandaged wound. "Oh yeah" she said recalling her previous night.

Quite the sizable demon had attacked her, blabbing about a 'key' or something, and the next thing she knew, she was rescued by the person that made her leave her home in the first place.

'_They said his name was Inuyasha. Why didn't he go to principal Kaede if he wanted answers? And I wonder what Sango meant by 'half breed''_ Kagome thought about the last three days and how eventful they had been, especially the last two. Hours later Sango came in.

"Good morning, Kagome. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, very well. I mean, considering there's a hole in my waist."

"About that. Kagome there's school today. Should I take you home, or leave you here" Sango asked.

"School." Kagome thought for a little. "Actually, I think I'll go" Kagome finished with a weak smile.

Sango was surprised. "But Kagome, you're still in bad shape. I really think you should stay back for today."

"But I wanna go today. Don't worry, I'll be fine. See, doesn't hurt anymore" Kagome said sitting up straight and moving around. Even though the pain was unbearable, she didn't show it. She didn't know why she wanted to go to school so bad, but she had this feeling calling her.

"All right. But if something happens, go straight home. You're my friend, and I don't like seeing you hurt" Sango said. "Here, I washed your clothes. And since yours is torn, you can wear one of my shirts. Heck, you have a choice today to wear anything of mine."

"Thanks Sango" said Kagome while getting up, holding in all of the pain.

Kagome followed Sango to her bedroom. Sango opened her dresser and closet. Kagome waited for Sango to give the 'go-ahead', and when she did, Kagome began browsing through the selection. She picked a black, formfitting, turtleneck tank top, and dark, olive green cargo pants. Sango's size was different, so picking a shirt that was meant to stretch and baggy pants was a safe choice.

Kagome left to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, with the clothes in her arms. She slipped into the pants with not much of a problem; it was getting the shirt on that was the challenge. She lifted it above her head, looking up at it with worry because just holding it there hurt almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. She let go of it letting her arms go through the arm holes. Now that that part was done, she painfully lowered her arms to pull the shirt over her head. She was now successfully dressed.

She got down on her hands and knees and with one hand held her side. Her eyes were closed shut and she was holding in a whine. She huffed a few times then mustered up the strength to stand up again. Yes, going to school today was probably a really bad idea. With permission, she got to use her friend's hair brush, she did have three of them anyway, but that is where Kagome drew the line, there was no way she was using someone else's toothbrush. She washed her face and left the room for Sango to use it.

After having breakfast with Sango's parents and younger brother, the three of them were off. They walked until they got to the familiar intersection where Kagome and Souta meet them. Speaking of, Souta was there.

"Kagome. Did you have fun at your sleepover?" he asked, a little jealous that his sister got to stay at his friend's house for night. Kagome looked at Sango. "You didn't tell them?" she whispered.

"No" she whispered back. "We thought it best not to get your parents to freak out."

While Kagome talked with Sango, Inuyasha followed from a safe distance, he made sure to stay out of human earshot, though he could hear them just fine.

Sango, after going through all the training, knew he was there, while Kohaku was a little unsure of the presence. Sango didn't think he was a threat right now, and he saved Kagome so she paid him no mind.

Inuyasha remembered her wound. _'She should be bedridden. Why is she walking?' _Then, while he was racking his brain for answers, he saw it. When her brother and her friends weren't looking, she winced from the pain; no doubt it was overwhelming. _'Humans' _he thought shaking his head. He still found himself following the girl.

The four of them walked through the front door and, like usual, it was crowded, but Sango cleared her way through the student body, Kagome followed. Kohaku and Souta entered through the door on the other side of the school. Kagome's locker was first, so she stopped while Sango kept going.

Kagome put the majority of her things in it, but kept back a few books and binders. She closed it then locked it, then made her way to history.

The trek there was difficult. She focused on dodging people but that hurt more than when they hit her. At least nobody stared at her anymore. She was holding her books with one arm and her waist with the other, and she hoped her wound wouldn't reopen. She opened her history class door and walked in. Because she had to go slow due to her injury she was late. She closed the door behind her, apologized for interrupting and being late, then took her seat.

Jakotsu waved at her with a happy face. Kagome waved and smiled back, though it must have looked weak to him because his happy face was replaced with one of worry, but he didn't pry, at least, not yet.

Kagome caught up on her notes, and then worked on her assignment. The history class in this school was very different from the ones in her other schools. It was more like a very complex novel, but then again, her life here so far has been like a horror story. The only up side to an experience like that is that she had inspiration for her own stories. She had a strong desire to pull out her notebook, but knew her homework was more important, so she didn't.

Like the last few school days, Kagome got her note. One of these days, someone is going to think she had an admirer. Nevertheless, she strayed from her school work to look at the scrap of paper.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome's eyes widened. Did she really look that bad? She was doing her best not to let it show. How could he have possibly noticed?

She brought her pencil to the paper. "Just tired. Had a short night. Pretty much woke up at dawn" it was mostly true. She didn't want anyone to find out about the events that took place at her friends place. She didn't want to be sent home. Even now she was feeling a pull, but it was stronger now than in the morning.

"Really? Why?"

Nosey isn't he? But she humoured him because he was her friend; her first friend in this school. "Strange dream. Can't really describe."

"Oh, Okay"

Finally, he gave up on the subject. Kagome realized that this was entertaining, so she passed it back with a topic of her choice. "I'm not getting this. Can you help at lunch?" Homework. Not her favourite topic, but she would like some help, she was new to all this.

"Sure. Can't wait ^_^."

Kagome giggled at his little 'happy face'. She crumpled up the note and continued her work. The bell rang and everyone file out, not in the most orderly fashion, but they got out. Kagome sighed, dreading the walk in the halls. She packed up her history homework: unfinished and notes then clipped them in her binder and picked them up. She stood in front of the door and once again grabbed her side, holding it thinking it would help keep it closed.

She arrived at her math class in the same manner as her history class: late. She apologized and took her seat. Occasionally she would look out the window, math was sometimes frustrating, so it served as a break.

Inuyasha didn't want to be seen following Kagome so he sat in the closest tree. There weren't any trees by her current class window, but he was still in smelling range. He may by a half demon, but his sense of smell was still extraordinary. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and put his hands behind his head to serve as a pillow of sorts. The leaves provided excellent cover as well as shade so he relaxed to his heart's content. He stayed there for the girl's next couple of classes.

Once again another lunch period, and Kagome slowly made her way to the cafeteria. She got there later than she usually did so the cafeteria doorway wasn't as crowded as the previous days. Her friends were all sitting together. Bankotsu sitting next to his younger brother; Jakotsu, Sango sitting opposite of them and Miroku sitting beside her, and he had a very fitting red hand print on his face; no doubt that he caressed Sango's bottom again.

Inuyasha had relocated to another tree. The cafeteria had windows around the outer walls, and there were trees just outside of a few of said windows. Right now, Inuyasha had a front row seat to the busy room. He watched Kagome come into sight and quickly remove her hand from her wound. _'Idiot.'_

Jakotsu was, once again, the first to see her. He waved at the raven haired girl, earning another smile from her, then he jumped up and ran over to her. He opened his arms wide and jumped at her to give her a strong bear hug. He meant no harm, but Kagome's wound had enough fun for today, it reopened.

The wounded girl's eyes shot open and she let out a yelp of pain. This made Jakotsu release Kagome from his; as of now, deathly bear hug. Kagome crumpled to the floor; gripping her waist tightly. Her face was twisted in a look of pain. Blood seeped through her shirt and dribbled down her thighs to the floor.

"Kagome?" Jakotsu cried.

Her hand was now red from the thick liquid that again poured from her body. Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to one of the window's that was shattered. Inuyasha had seen what happened, though he couldn't help but feel angry; even if he didn't like the girl. In a flash of red and silver, he was by Kagome. He picked her up under his arm and left through the window that he entered. Nearly everyone in the cafeteria went silent as they heard Kagome's cries of pain and discomfort.

From her position, the ride wasn't exactly smooth. Inuyasha was leaping off of roofs, so the constant ups and downs sucked the blood out of her. Tears were pouring out of her eyes as her world began to fade.

Finally, Inuyasha stopped, but not anywhere familiar to Kagome. Inuyasha could smell the iron rich blood, and now salty tears were added to the mix. He sighed. Inuyasha carefully repositioned her so she was now in his arms bridal style. He started to move again, but the ride was significantly smoother.

Not long after, Kagome blacked out from the loss of blood. Inuyasha knew where he was going. He was carrying her to her home; where she should have been in the first place. _'If she stayed back in the first place this wouldn't have happened' _he thought angrily at the sleeping girl.

He eventually landed on the shrine property, and with another great leap he was at the house at the back. Kagome's bedroom window was closed, this posed a problem. He didn't think that her family would take this very well, but it seemed that he had no choice.

Not caring, he simply opened the front door and walked in. This was his first time in this part of the house, but he followed his nose and walked in the direction of where Kagome's natural scent was the strongest.

He walked past the kitchen, and Kagome's mother saw him. She didn't remember letting anyone in. She walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me. Who are you?" She gasped when the half demon tuned slightly, revealing an unconscious Kagome.

The older woman quickly noticed the trail of blood from the door to the young man holding her only daughter. She grabbed his shoulder and roughly pulled it back so she could see Kagome fully. Her eyes shot open in horror when she saw the black fabric soaked through with blood: Kagome's blood.

"What happened?" she burst out, tears threatening her eyes. "Kagome! KAGOME!" her mom flew into a panic as she grasped the slumbering girl's shoulders and began to shake.

"Stop it!" Inuyasha roared shaking Kagome's mom out of the frantic state she was in. "Do you have clean bandages?"

The girl's mother nodded and left. Inuyasha continued walking up the stairs. He opened her bedroom door. There was a pink and white carpet on the floor that Inuyasha kicked away. He gently put Kagome on the floor of her bedroom.

Moments later, her mom rushed in with the first aid kit. Inuyasha was sitting beside Kagome. Mrs. Higurashi got down on her knees and put the first aid kit beside her. As she opened it, Inuyasha stood up and left the room.

He closed the door behind him and sat on the floor next to the frame. Inside, Kagome's mom removed the girl's shirt and saw that nearly her entire mid section was red with blood. She carefully took off the dirty bandages. She grabbed a cloth from the kit to wipe the blood off.

Her expression changed when she looked at the wound. It was odd to say the least. It was about an inch deep, maybe an inch and a half. It looked like someone used one of her kitchen utensils and clamped it shut on her side then ripping it off.

After cleaning her daughters wound, putting new bandages on, and getting the girl into her pyjama's she tried picking her up to put her in her bed, but, let's face it, a 40-ish year old woman carrying a 16 year old just wasn't happening. Thankfully, Inuyasha walked in to finish the task.

When Kagome was tucked in the other two left to the kitchen. Kagome's mom ushered Inuyasha to sit at the table while she sat across from him. The grandfather was busy reading ancient scrolls in the living area, he didn't even know of Inuyasha's presence in the house. More proof that he didn't have the spiritual power he often boasted that he had.

The older woman interlaced her fingers together on the table and asked again, but this time much calmer than before. "What happened?"

While Inuyasha proceeded to tell her the event, and if she didn't avoid him, she wouldn't have gotten hurt, Kagome's mind once again had an intruder.

'_Kagome'_

'_Who are you?'_

'_You didn't come...'_

'_Come? Where?'_

'_Don't worry. It's not too late. You still have time...'_

'_Time for what?'_

Kagome went over this one-sided conversation numerous times in her dream.

Inuyasha, when he finished explaining things to her mother, returned to Kagome's bedroom and sat on the floor in front of her bed facing her. He was encouraged to stay by Kagome, because what her mom was told Inuyasha was going to protect her.

Mildly distracted by her beauty and scent, he tried to piece together what was going on in her head. She was sleep talking again, but this time there was more to say.

He put his hands in either of his sleeves and continued to meditate over her mumbled words.

_**Okay, I admit, Inuyasha was kind of a stalker in this chapter. Anyway, please R & R.**_


	5. Chapter 5: Basement Floor One

_**Disclaimer: I don't own 'Inuyasha', but I do own the plotline. If there are similarities elsewhere, I'm sorry, I didn't know. u_u**_

**Chapter Five: Basement Floor One**

"Leave me ALONE!" Kagome shouted. She was sitting straight up in her bed, staring down at her blanket in her grip. She had a few sweat drops on her forehead, and she was breathing heavily in an angry huff.

The past few nights, and sometimes days; when she was asleep, someone would be calling her in her dreams, telling her to 'go somewhere'. Each time she would ask who they were and where she was supposed to go, but each time these important little tidbits of information were not given. Naturally, this was getting on Kagome's bad side.

She has been told that she has been sleep talking by her new, rude bodyguard: Inuyasha. Reasons for this would be because her mother now knows that this is a town of demons and humans; quite the dangerous place. This is why Inuyasha follows her around; or at least, that's what he says. He didn't seem like the type to go around helping random people.

"That dream again?" Inuyasha asked calmly.

Kagome looked over to him and sighed. Inuyasha was the first person she's been seeing every day. She was surprised that her mom was completely okay with it, and she didn't think grandpa even knew about him, since Inuyasha has spent the majority of his time in Kagome's bedroom. When Souta came home from school a few days ago, he rushed into Kagome's room, wondering why she went home early, only to find Inuyasha. He instantly became the young boy's role-model; creeped Inuyasha out though.

Ever since Jakotsu's deadly bear hug, Kagome had been home healing, or trying to. She was supposed to be bedridden, but all this time in bed was really storing energy.

"Yeah. I think I know where it wants me to go, actually" Kagome said looking up in thought.

"No." Inuyasha said sternly.

Kagome looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"You're not going to wherever it wants you to go."

"Why?"

"'Cause it's dangerous, that's why! You're not going!"

Kagome was getting tired of his bossy attitude, but over the last few days, she learned that he was incredibly stubborn. For example, he still refused to call her by her name; it was anything but her name.

"Get out" Kagome said.

Inuyasha didn't protest, but he didn't move either.

"Get out **now**" she said adding volume.

"F-feh" was all Inuyasha said. He obediently got up and left the room, sitting just outside of her bedroom door. It was still in the morning, so after a minute or two, Souta came out and immediately interrogated him with questions and other comments.

Kagome paused, looked at the closed door for a few seconds, then removed her pyjama shirt. She unwrapped her bandages, revealing what looked like a scar. Truthfully, it was still a little sore, but it was bearable. It was closed, and the color was a bit off, but it was strong enough to not be reopened. She smiled to herself, she could now leave.

Kagome climbed out of bed and opened her dresser. She started to pull out her clothes when she was caught by surprise.

"Hey, don't even think about it" Inuyasha called, Souta was confused, but he had a feeling that an argument was about to break out, so he retreated to the kitchen downstairs.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Don't even try to play dumb. You're thinkin' about leavin'. Don't forget, I can still hear everythin' you're doin'."

Kagome blushed. She was walking around her room with only her pyjama pants and a bra, and he knew it. "She proceeded quickly. She grabbed a blue t-shirt and pulled it on with little trouble. Going back into her dresser, she took out a lavender colored skirt.

Regaining her composure, she swung opened her door. Inuyasha looked at her curiously, as she headed towards the bathroom.

"Hey, didn't ya hear me?"

"I heard you. I'm still going to school" she turned to look at him square in the face. "You can't boss me around."

Inuyasha got up and headed for the girl. He was going to grab her wrist and drag her back to her room, but when his hand was two inches from her wrist, she uttered the evil word. His body tumbled to the floor with a crash.

"Stupid" she muttered under her breath as she turned to enter the vacant bathroom.

Kagome had obviously won over because she was now on her way to school with her little brother; Inuyasha in tow. Although, due to the fact that his smug personality was trying to show that he didn't care about her in the slightest, he couldn't help following the girl behind her.

"Sis, why is Inuyasha following us to school?" Souta piped up.

"Because he doesn't want me to go" Kagome replied in annoyance, this giving Souta enough warning to back off.

The two had paid him no mind and reached the usual intersection in silence. Sango and Kohaku had already been there waiting, and they both seemed to brighten up upon seeing the Higurashi's faces.

"Good morning, Kagome" Sango had greeted and they continued their way toward the school.

"Morning" Kagome returned. Truthfully she was really happy to see her friend; after all, she had been forced to stay home by her temperamental, half demon guest. _'Unwelcome guest'_ she mentally added.

"I see he's still with you" Sango said referring to Inuyasha who was only a few feet behind them walked not very stealthily on roofs and fences.

Kagome sighed, unintentionally making it sound more like a groan.

"Is he being nice?"

Kagome laughed nervously. A frown took over. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

Said girl had narrowed her eyes. "He's a rude, insensitive jerk."

"I could put him in his place if you want" Sango offered.

"Ha ha, no. I can handle him"

Even though Kagome had said this, Sango still sent chilling glares back to the unsuspecting half demon. Her eyes clearly promising a painful beating if he were to hurt her young friend.

"K-keh" Inuyasha snorted, bringing his nose up.

Kagome and her friend Sango entered the school leaving Inuyasha outside. He didn't mind though. There was no way he was willingly entering that prison again, nuh uh. Inuyasha had watched over Kagome much like he had the previous day. As the day progressed, her behaviour was getting increasingly odd. She was zoning out a lot.

'_Damn girl should've stayed home'_ he thought still blaming her nonexistent injuries.

Kagome pulled out her journal and wrote down some of the recent ideas she had. She still had a long way to go to completing it, never mind properly, but it was still going pretty well.

'_...Kagome!'_

Kagome widened her eyes. Great. Just great. Now she was hearing this voice during the day. And it only got worse as the day passed. Not only did it get worse, but it was slightly painful. It didn't hurt terribly much, it felt like a small teething animal was gnawing at the back of her mind. Not an idea, just a throbbing pain that was steadily getting worse.

By noon, it had already passed the point of aching. Now the pain was like full out chewing, like her mind was a piece of bubble gum; bubble gum that was loaded with nerves.

She, being on her usual route, walked closer to the wolf demon counsellor's office. The halls were mostly empty, due to the fact that she was late. Not that it mattered much because it was lunch hour. A final wave of pain coursed through her mind and she slowly got to her knees by the wall; two feet from the counsellor's office door. She put the things she had on the floor so she could grab her head.

'_Kagome, you're close now. Come. Come see me...'_ the voice said trying to lure her.

'_Some...things in my...head'_ Kagome's breathing got heavier.

After loads of mental struggle, Kagome looked up. Her eyes void of any signs of life. She stood once again like nothing was wrong. She abandoned her lunch and school supplies, and entered the vacant counsellor's office.

Outside, Inuyasha noticed the slight alteration in Kagome's scent. The rest of his senses were on high alert. _'Damn it, now what has she done'_ he though angrily. He was trying to figure out why he cared so much. He was supposed to be a heartless half demon. Debating if she was worth re-entering the building he loathed so much, he soon came to the conclusion. He would run in, get the girl, and quickly leave. Would be quick and easy, right?

Wrong! Now that he was inside he was having difficulty. The halls were crowded once again, so he could really use his demon speed, there were ceilings, so he couldn't leap out of the crowd, not to mention that this school was filled with all sorts of different scents. He made of mental note to memorize her scent.

'_Wait-what? What am I thinking? I shouldn't want to know her scent! But... it is really nice-No! Stop it! Fine, only to keep her out of trouble.' _He growled at his thoughts.

He bumped into a familiar stench. _'Wolf. Feh'_ he thought as he looked up at Kouga.

"Hello again, mutt" Kouga greeted with a cocky grin. "I half expected to drag you back."

"Out of my way, flea bag. I've got no time to waste on you" Inuyasha snarled, pushing him to the side. Kouga just stared wide eyed at the retreating half demon.

Inuyasha finally locked onto her scent, and when he managed to find the source, she wasn't there. The halls were now empty, so Inuyasha could now focus on fishing and following the right scent. He got down onto his hands and knees and began sniffing the floor.

Kouga rounded the corner to find Inuyasha on the floor sniffing about. Inuyasha approached the door of the office and stood back up. He visibly sighed and turned the doorknob, entering the room. With Inuyasha out of the way, Kouga spotted Kagome's belongings two feet from the door. Then it hit him. "Aw, no."

Inuyasha had already raced down into the basement and was now navigating through the mazelike place. "Oi. Girl, where are you?" he called in his usual stubborn fashion.

Kagome was already well into the maze by the time Inuyasha got in. _'Where...am I going?'_ she thought.

'_Kagome. Thank you for releasing me. Now I need you to free everyone of my kind. I'm going to use this body, but I can't guarantee that you'll get it back.'_

'_What?'_

Though her body wasn't hers at the moment, her eyes shot open. She stopped in front of another door. This one was not like the others before her. It had a heavy spiritual lock, and she sensed that the presence inside was strong as well.

'_No. This door has to stay closed!'_

Her thoughts were screaming at her body to not go near it.

'_This body is mine! I'm not going to that door!'_

'_Kagome. Stop it! It's no use. You will obey me! You have no control anymore!'_

Her hand reached out to the door. It stopped inches away. Her whole body started to tremble, in an attempt to reject the foreign presence controlling it. _'I...can't! I won't...let it!'_ Beads of sweat rolled down her face.

"Girl, get away from that door"

Kagome's mind calmed down when the driver of the body turned around to face the half demon. Her face twisted into a sadistic grin. Once again, she reached towards the door: slowly, to enjoy tormenting Inuyasha.

"Hey, I said to get away. Now stop!" Inuyasha ordered. His eyes were growing wider the closer her hand got to the knob of the door. Whatever was inside her was definitely having fun with this. Oh yeah, it was taking great pleasure in looking at the growing worried half demon.

"If you open that door they are going to conquer your body and destroy your soul" he growled.

'_They're going to WHAT?' _Kagome thought in a panic.

"That's the idea." Without another word, Kagome turned to face the door and reached for it again, only to, again, be stopped by her conscious.

'_Oh no you don't!'_

The possessor growled and closed the body's eyes. Now they were both in the darkness of her mind; the demon and Kagome. He: the possessor, had pasty skin, almost blue; almost, it was probably from being here in the basement too long. He was tall and thin, his clothes almost sliding off of his mental body. His thin black, borderline blue, hair was loose and roughly the same length as hers. As a final touch, his fiery orange eyes glared though her.

'_You are very quickly getting on my nerves.'_ He started to advance towards Kagome.

'_Wh-what are you going to do?'_ she asked taking subtle steps back.

'_Put a stop to the constant interferences you are making.'_

Kagome gasped and turned to run. She didn't get very far before the demon had caught her and whacked her on the head. Since this was her mind, she wasn't unconscious, just stunned. Her mental body dropped to the floor.

"Now that she's out of the way..." he spoke though Kagome.

"What do you mean? What did you do to her?" howled Inuyasha.

Kagome turned and looked at him one more time, the look telling Inuyasha everything. She planted her hand on the door; successfully undoing the spiritual lock. The pure energy swirled around her, making her hair fly around. As soon as it started, it stopped.

The door flew open, and numerous creatures dove towards the girl. The room was dimly lit so she could see the ghostlike demons clearly. The one she currently had must've invaded her body the last time she was here. It made sense, because she didn't see him last time and it was dark in the basement; it was still dark but not particularly in this room.

The outside appearance of these demons was grotesque, much more than the creature that grabbed her ankle when she was fleeing up the stairs. They were a dark blue-ish purple. Their torso's looked boney and their lower stomach was unusually wide. Each of them was bald, it would be a bit weird if they did have hair, they were a ghostly slime, sort of. They didn't really have legs, just a pedestal.

They all rushed into her body as if it would kill them to be out. Kagome was pushed back with each new entry. As her mind was getting occupied unnaturally, Kagome in her mind started to scream.

Inuyasha was taken by surprise when the door suddenly opened on its own, and his heart skipped a beat then raced as the all swarmed Kagome.

"Kagome!" he called in a panic, well, a bit more than a little.

He rushed over to her as she fell back onto the ground. He picked up her torso to get a better look at her. She was absent. Her face held no expression, and the shocking part was that her brown eyes had no pupil; they were just brown. No sign of life on the inside, until she smirked.

Inuyasha dropped her and leapt back a step. She caught herself before her fragile head hit the concrete of the floor.

"What's the matter, half breed? Afraid of a little girl?" she snickered using more than one voice.

"Who are you? What have you done to the girl?" he glared at the possessed Kagome.

"Who are we? That's a good question. None of really know. All we know is that we are demons born in this basement, of this basement" they said thoughtfully.

"And the girl? She's in here as well. She won't be coming out for a long time. Her spirit is really weak, doesn't match the strength of her power at all. We will take good care of it, don't worry" they said, directing that last part to Kagome.

Inside her mind wasn't very roomy, at least not with all the new guests, or tenants, they obviously weren't thinking about leaving for a while. From where she was being held, she could see a large group in her mind zoned out; they must be the ones in control of the body right now. She grit her teeth. _'Somehow, I have to kick them out' _she mumbled. Her mind didn't have the luxury of private thoughts because, after all, this is usually where her thoughts happened.

Nobody had anything better to do so they aimlessly wandered her mind. There was one holding each of her arms, and they were even holding onto her legs. She had no chance; she knew that, so she didn't fight.

'_That that does not kill you will only make you stronger...'_ Kagome looked up and saw the first demon spirit that entered her body.

'_What...?'_ she said dumbly.

'_Remember these words. They will help.'_ As if he wasn't there, he turned and left. Nobody around her seemed to notice him talk to her, or even stand there in front of her.

"Kagome! Snap out of this! Hurry and send them packin'!" Inuyasha ordered, trying to sound as high and mighty as he could.

Currently, Inuyasha was getting his ass kicked pretty good. He was being beaten to a pulp by Kagome; her body anyway. Her boney knuckles making him bleed. It's not that she was stronger than him; one with dog demon blood, but the demons gave her extra speed and strength, and Inuyasha couldn't strike her. Her face was just...

She struck him in the face. Inside, she had enough. She didn't want to watch this anymore.

'_Stop it! Leave him alone!' _she shouted. She was using as much as her will to try to get them to stop. To which she was unsuccessful; but she was unconsciously trying to control her body herself.

Her fists started to glow a pink, and to the ones holding onto her wrists, they ripped their hand off and their hand were smoking. Her untapped spiritual power was burning them. The more they used her body to beat Inuyasha, the more the pink on her fists extended to the rest of her body. When her body was completely shielded from there touch, it started to grow off her body, creating a barrier.

Her eyes were shut tight, trying to not see the damage her body was causing, but she saw it anyway. _'Stop it! Stop it!'_ she shouted. Her eyes shot open to glare at everyone inside. Everyone there was looking at her, even the ones that were in control. She assumed her body was limp right now. _'Get OUT!'_ she ordered in a shout. As she uttered the last word her small pink barrier expanded to cover every part of her mind.

The occupants were fleeing her body just as fast as they entered, and a few of the poor stragglers got burned to a crisp. Inuyasha stared in awe as he watched this. She was lying on the cold floor, stiff as a board. Soon after all of them were out Kagome opened her eyes slowly, but angrily, her pupils had returned to prove it was really her. She sat up with difficulty and spied past Inuyasha at the ghostly demons huddling back in the room. She narrowed her eyes on them, feeling much rage towards them.

"Be...gone" she hissed. They all stopped moving and burned like the others did.

Inuyasha stared down at her. _'She just...she just killed them all.'_

Kagome got to her feet, using the wall to help her up. Her legs were shaking wildly, but she slowly walked past him, not daring to look at him. He was beaten, but he barely showed it. A trickle of blood escaped his slightly parted lips and a cut was on his collar bone, but that was about it.

Something in the room was glowing. There was an arrow lodged into the wall in the back; the source of the glow. It emitted a pure aura, but it was weak. Kagome dragged her feet along the floor to reach the old weapon.

As soon as it came out; with difficulty, the light that was coming from the arrow drained into her own body. As if her body wasn't exhausted enough, she now lost whatever strength she had left, albeit she was still awake.

Inuyasha had come up behind her and grabbed her shoulder, to let her know that he was willing to carry her back. She stubbornly pushed him away. She put her hands on the floor to help her get to her feet. She failed. Her legs didn't budge. He sighed at her and hoisted her up anyway. She was put on his back. She hadn't had a piggyback ride in years, so she didn't really mind.

She clung to his throat, but was mindful not to strangle him. She rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes cast down and staring, she was looking at his shoulders drowsily.

'_His shoulders...'_ This was her last thought before she drifted into sleep, arrow in her grip. She was content that her thoughts were her own once again

Inuyasha's dog ears twitched back. She sighed softly, and continued breathing like such. _'She fell asleep. Well, I guess she was tired.'_ He continued down the way he came. Kouga was also wandering these halls.

"What took ya?" Inuyasha said in his usual cocky tone.

Kouga laughed it off, then he noticed the sleeping Kagome on his back. "What happened to her?"

"Don't worry 'bout it. She's fine. She just needs sleep."

"Fine."

Kagome woke up in her own bedroom. _'Just a dream...'_ she thought, closing her eyes again. Her eyes shot open again realizing that she wasn't the only one in her room. Inuyasha wasn't the only one there. Her mom was in there, as well as her brother, Kouga, and principal Kaede. Kagome quickly sat up, causing her blanket to crumple to her lap.

"I told them you were fine, but the old lady wanted to make sure your mind was in check" Inuyasha said smugly, but the hint of relief in his voice did not go unnoticed by Kagome.

"Inuyasha told us everything that happened in the basement" Kaede started. Kagome's mother, sure that her daughter appeared completely fine, left with Souta. "I want you to tell me what went on in your mind."

Kagome proceeded to tell everyone about every little thing that she remembered, also mentioning that it started right after she first went into the basement.

"I see" said Kaede thoughtfully. "Kagome, you created a barrier around your mind. That is a very important skill. It not only prevents creatures from possessing you, but it also prevents your mind from being read"

"I hope I don't have to do anything like that again. It was hard and exhausting" Kagome said in all honesty.

"Then we have to train you."

Kagome looked at Kaede with worry plastered on her face. "But, I can't..."

"The fact that it made you tired is proof enough that you need to train your abilities" Kouga piped up.

"You have the Shikon jewel now. If I'm not mistaken, you'll master this ability in no time" Kaede persuaded.

Kagome let out a tired groan.

"We'll talk about the details tomorrow" Kaede said before ushering Kouga out of the girl's room.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha. "You're not leaving?" she asked.

"Keh."

"Can you?"

"No. I'm stayin' right here."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome seethed. "I mean, can you leave my room?" she said, struggling to keep her temper under control.

Inuyasha looked at her curiously.

"I need to change." It didn't take long for him to exit her room. He knew that when she wanted him to get out he had to or he'd be sat for disobeying.

After changing into her pyjamas and brushing her teeth, she climbed back into bed. By the time she was settled in, Inuyasha had planted himself beside her bed, leaning on it.

"Inuyasha" Kagome started with a smile on her face. He angled one of his ears towards her. "Back in the basement, you said my name." It was a simple gesture, but it still made her happy.

"So?"

"It was the first time you said it. It feels like you're actually starting to acknowledge me" she said leaning back on her pillow. _'He finally called me by my name, and it wasn't Kikyo.'_ With a final sigh, she drifted off to sleep.

Inuyasha look back at her. _'Strange girl. The stupidest things make her happy.'_

_**There, chapter 5 is done. It was kinda difficult, so I hope you like it. R & R please.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Long Weekend Part 1

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own any characters of the **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__** series. I know it**__**'**__**s getting kind of boring and repetitive, but figured I**__**'**__**d say/type it anyway.**_

_**I am so sorry I took so long.**_

**Chapter Six: Long Weekend Part 1**

Weeks passed and Kagome spent most of the time training with principal Kaede and counsellor Kouga. Inuyasha was there, of course, just watching her work her butt off. But, after much toil, she was successful in creating a perpetual barrier around her mind. Next on the 'to do' list was making one around herself, and maybe others.

This morning was much like the others. Kicking Inuyasha out of her room; he didn't argue anymore since he knew why, picking a presentable outfit, finishing up in the washroom, and packing her school supplies.

Her whole family, including her grandfather, has gotten used to Inuyasha's presence in the house. Her grandpa didn't like the fact that he was constantly interfering with her studies, but there wasn't much he could do to stop the half demon, just try warding him off with salt, invalid sutras and other methods that didn't work. Kagome sighed.

"Good morning, dear" her mother greeted.

"Morning mom." A thought had occurred in her mind.

It was Friday; the last school day of the week. She stared dreamily into nothingness. She had managed to finish training her mind, so this was her first weekend off. Kaede had tried to get her to continue on more training, but Kagome fought for this weekend. Rest, relaxation, just what a girl needs after weeks of stress and struggle.

"What're you so happy about?" Inuyasha asked in an annoyed fashion.

Kagome looked over to him, her sweet smile still on her face. "I'm looking forward to this weekend" she told him. She'd never admit it, but she was growing fond of the annoyingly grouchy half breed.

"Why?" was all he had to say. Kagome was too lost in thought to register his question. She was thinking what kind of pampering she should put herself through.

"Hey, sis. We're going to be late if you don't hurry" came Souta's voice. He was already by the door putting his shoes on. Kagome squeaked in surprise and ran to the door to put her own shoes on. Inuyasha sighed.

Her day at school was like any other. Every now and again when she would look out the window, she could almost swear that she saw a red blur; well, red and white, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Inuyasha had something to do with that.

Jakotsu and Bankotsu were the same as always, as well as Sango and Miroku; they were quite the lively pair.

Currently, Sango was fuming. Miroku could be seen a few meters away flirting with one of the senior girls.

"Every week it's a different girl" Sango said sourly.

"That's Miroku for you. Doesn't stop at one girl" Bankotsu said with a small grin.

Kagome looked back at Sango and she had pure death in her eyes. At that moment, Kagome pitied the poor monk, but he kind of had it coming.

When Miroku was done his flirting rounds, he came to the table and made a grave mistake. He put his arm around Sango's shoulders. Maybe there was a hint of happiness in her eyes, but that didn't last long, she wasted no time taking the first hit. He flew, almost gracefully: almost, out of his seat. Then the furious girl stood up to finish the job.

"I think her hits are getting harder…" Jakotsu said thoughtfully.

"I think so too" Kagome replied. She had a vague idea as to why, too.

"I don't think he'll ever learn" came a smug voice behind Kagome. She whirled her head around only to be faced with a red wall. Inuyasha was standing there with his arms crossed and a somewhat arrogant look on his face.

"Inuyasha" Kagome started in surprise. "You're not supposed be here."

He looked at her, giving her an 'are you stupid' look. "Why not?"

"Ooooh, Kagome. Who's your handsome friend?" Kagome turned around to find Jakotsu licking his lips and gazing up at Inuyasha seductively.

"You know, Kagome. I think you're right; I'm not supposed to be here" the half demon said awkwardly. He quickly turned around and left the building as fast as he could.

"Awww. That's not fair" Jakotsu whined.

Kagome giggled at her friends behaviour, and quickly noticed that her friend; Jakotsu, would be a valid weakness, for her dog eared room mate. The 'Sit' command was great and all, but sometimes she did feel guilty about saying it.

For the rest of the day she was in high spirits. Although she got a little uncomfortable around the counsellors office. It felt as if a dark aura was dribbling out of the basement door. She paid no mind to it, there was no way she was willingly going to go back down there. Every time she did, something down there would freak her right out.

"See you Monday, Jakotsu" Kagome called to her odd friend.

"See you. Oh, and bring that handsome dog eared guy next time, okay?"

Kagome let out an awkward laugh, and waved to him. Finally, Sango, Kohaku, Souta, Inuyasha and herself were headed home. Souta was walking up ahead with Kohaku, talking as much as they were walking, Inuyasha was walking a little bit behind Kagome and Sango. Kagome couldn't help but notice that he seemed a little out of sorts. At the moment he seemed deep in thought.

"So, Inuyasha" Sango spoke up. "You came out of that door in the counsellors office, right? How does it feel to go back to the place that held you captive for so long?"

Yeah. Kagome told Sango pretty much everything. They were really close, so why not. Though they were great friends, Kagome would never say out loud that Sango was her best friend, because she knew that would hurt Jakotsu; and he had never really crossed her.

"Huh?" Inuyasha had to think a little bit more as he snapped back into reality. "…Counsellors office…?" he asked, pronouncing each syllable solidly.

"The room where I found you, in the basement, that door is in the counsellors office" Kagome filled in.

"The room that stinks like wolf?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, I guess…" Kagome replied looking at Sango for confirmation.

"Kouga _is _a wolf demon" Sango said, reassuringly to Kagome.

Inuyasha thought back to the original question. "Well, I didn't really mind. There's no way anyone could get me back down there. Not ever-" he trailed off.

The girls looked at him in confusion, but quickly turned away from him, realizing that he wasn't going to make for good conversation.

Inuyasha sighed. _'I guess it's that time again.'_ He raised his hand a little to look at it. He made a fist with the raised hand, then dropped it back to his side.

After listening to what seemed like an eternity of talking; Sango and Kagome, though he could faintly hear Souta and Kohaku, they all reached the corner where they had to part ways. Kagome and Souta said their goodbyes to the other siblings and the three were on their way back to the shrine.

During their walk, Souta had almost immediately latched onto Inuyasha. Even if Kagome couldn't really talk to them, well not over Souta's excessive rambling on how productive his day was and all that, she couldn't help but think _'Poor guy'_, because Inuyasha was now Souta's new 'hero', and she could tell that Inuyasha was getting increasingly annoyed with the boy; but he was doing pretty well.

They listened to Souta's seemingly endless babble until they reached the shrine grounds, and Souta ran the rest of the way to the house, to tell their mom about his day. It was okay though, she was a woman with experience with talkative children.

"I thought he would never leave" Inuyasha groaned.

"He's not that bad" Kagome defended. He may be a pain sometimes, but he was still her little brother, so she was required to love him.

Inuyasha just looked at her with the 'are-you-serious' look. Kagome laughed.

"Okay maybe he is. Sometimes."

"Sometimes? He's not normally like that?"

"Nope. He's only that bad around you, apparently."

Inuyasha's shoulders drooped. "Why only me?"

"Because you are his new hero. You look-" she cut herself off right there. She didn't want to completely embarrass herself. Her plan to keep silent didn't look like it was going to work. The half demon looked at her curiously, and his eyes were pressing her for answers, even if he said nothing.

Kagome sighed. "…Cool…to him" she added, hoping to rescue whatever dignity she might have lost.

He smirked at her. This made her blush at little. _'Whoa, Kagome. Don't get ahead of yourself. He just smirked, and he's a jerk. Just an annoying jerk.'_ While Kagome was realigning her thoughts, Inuyasha was looking around; studying the property.

Kagome let out a sigh as she walked through the front door, into her house. Inuyasha decided to stay outside a little bit longer. _'Who cares if he doesn't want to come in. He's not welcome anyway'_ she pouted.

Inuyasha finally came back into the house in the middle of dinner. He looked around the table, searching for his spot but it wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I'll get you some food right away." Kagome's mom quickly stood up, abandoning her own dish for the moment to feed the half demon.

He grabbed a seat next to Kagome and waited. A few moments later, his favourite dish was placed in front of him: Ramen, as the family came to realize.

"Kagome," the older woman started. "Your grandfather and I have to take care of some business. The head of the council had asked if we can run an errand for him out of town."

"What kind of errand?" Kagome asked them.

"We don't know. We have to go see him first."

"Do you know how long it will take?"

"He did say it would take a few days, so would you mind taking care of Souta while we're gone?"

Inuyasha's face went white. Without the boy's mother, Inuyasha would have to tolerate the kid the whole time, and he didn't think Kagome would save him from her little brother. Kagome noticed Inuyasha's gloomy aura and suggest something else.

"Why doesn't Souta stay at a friends house for a sleepover. I've already had one" she said cheerfully.

Souta obviously liked this idea, because he was giving his mom a pleading look. A child's look that no one could say no to. Naturally, the kind woman agreed.

"As long as it's okay with them."

"Are you going to stay with Kohaku? Or Shippo?" Kagome asked.

Souta was a little worried, but he finally made his choice. "I don't know where Shippo lives and I don't know his phone number, so Kohaku"

Kagome got up and headed to the phone. She dialled the numbers and let it ring. "Hello?" It was a female voice.

"Hi. This is Kagome"

"Oh. Hi Kagome."

"Sango. I have a request" Kagome started. She told Sango the story and she happily agreed, and Kohaku was more than happy.

"Alright. I'll bring him over. See you soon."

"Yeah. See you." The phone call was ended just like that.

Supper had already ended and Souta, and the rest of the family was at the door. "I'll take him there" Kagome told her mother.

"Thank you, dear" her mom said as she ushered the grandfather out and they left.

Inuyasha was behind Kagome. And she could hear a faint growl. She turned around to find an angry look on his face.

"You're not going anywhere" he ordered.

"Yes, I am. He's my brother and I have to make sure he gets there safely" she argued back.

"Who cares. You're not leaving."

"I care!"

"Look. It's not safe out there" he said quieter, so that Souta wouldn't hear.

Kagome sighed. "We'll be fine. And if you're so worried, why don't you come?" Leaving him to his thoughts, she turned and walked out the door. She didn't get far though. Inuyasha had grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"You are not going" he said again.

Kagome had just about enough of this. "Sit." With Inuyasha's face in the dirt, Kagome left, taking Souta with her.

'_Why? Why can't she understand that I'm just trying to protect her…Why would I want to do that…?'_ he sighed. _'I better get going.'_

He looked at the sky and made a mental note of where the sun was. He made his way to find the Higurashi siblings. They didn't make it very far. Inuyasha landed in front of them, and Kagome gave him an evil glare. Before she could send him to the concrete again, he started speaking to Souta.

"How would you like a ride there?"

Souta was of course happy, and he agreed almost immediately. Inuyasha turned around and got down on one knee. Souta quickly hopped on. Kagome gave a small smile and turned to go back up the stairs. She knew very well how fast he was.

"Oi. Aren't you comin'?"

"But there's someone already on your back" she pointed out.

"So? I can carry two."

"Um…How?"

"Just get on already. I don't have all day" he barked.

Kagome jumped and awkwardly climbed on as well. Souta was giggling at her. Inuyasha wasted no time in racing towards the slayers home. When they got there, Kagome and Souta got off and Kagome knocked on the door. Kohaku opened the door.

"Hello, miss Kagome" he greeted.

'_Miss?'_ she thought.

"Kagome" Sango came to the door and greeted her friend happily.

Sango invited the two in and Souta and Kohaku ran into the house. Kagome took only one step into the house, just one.

"Hey. He got here safely, now let's go back" Inuyasha said in a huff.

"Ugh. Thanks, but I have to go" Kagome said to Sango as she glared back at Inuyasha.

"Yeah. I see" Sango said, hiding a giggle.

"Thank you for taking Souta in for a few days."

"No problem."

"Let's go already" Inuyasha said loosing patience.

Kagome sighed. This guy was going to give her gray hair early. "Sorry, Sango."

"It's okay. See you in a few days."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha as Sango closed the door. "Okay. I'm done. We can go home now." Kagome walked passed him in the direction of her home until, once again, Inuyasha stopped her.

"No. We go the fast way" he said as he tossed the girl on his back.

'_He's acting strange…' _she thought.

_**Okay. I know it's quite a bit late, but I've been busy. If you don't totally hate me by now, then please leave a review, believe it or not, it actually makes me want to write faster.**_ _**Thank you to the few who did. So I'm gonna say this:**_

**Kitana411, () **_**- thank you so much for the reviews. It's nice to know some people are reading my work. ^_^**_


	7. Chapter 7: Long Weekend Part 2

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own the characters of **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__**.**_

**Chapter Seven: Long Weekend Part 2**

Kagome climbed off of the half demons back and wobbled a bit. She quickly got her balance under control and walked to her now vacant house. She paused in the doorway.

'_I wonder when the last time I heard the house this quiet was. Wait, it shouldn__'__t be quiet. Inuyasha is__…'__._ She turned around to see said half demon, but he wasn't there. All she saw was the lowering sun of the sunset. _'__Hm. Now where did he run off to?__'_ she thought in wonder. With a shrug, she closed the door.

She returned to the kitchen and gave a weak smile as she looked at the table. Normally, the whole room would be spotless, but at the moment Everything was still on the table. Which left washing the dishes to her; though she didn't really mind, at least it kept her busy.

An hour later, after her 'tidying up' got carried away, she set off to her room. Once inside she hauled her backpack onto her bed and fished out her school work with the bizarre name 'home' work. Putting it on her desk. There was one book she got from the principal earlier that week that she was told to read. So she diligently sat on the chair and opened the book. She didn't intend on reading it at the moment so she settled on skimming it.

While flipping through its pages, she found an unusually interesting section.

…_200 years ago to date, there was a powerful priestess; named Midoriko, who despised the vicious conflict between the humans and the demons. As she struggled to defend herself from the many demons who sought to claim her life, she was constantly trying to find a solution to this problem. As tiresome as it was, the priestess__'__ determination came through and she founded this very school. Most demons and humans were impressed with the idea, and were admitted into its curriculum. The demons and humans that detested the idea were not only rejected and not being allowed within 2 miles of the place, but the violent ones were sealed beneath the foundation until they have passed on. The entrance of the way down was under strict guard by one trusted individual, be it human or demon__…_

… _Midoriko, as powerful as she was, was being drained by constantly suppressing the many evil presences in the basement. So much so that it was killing her. Once again, she was faced with a problem. Still, she was determined to solve it, like she did the last one. Sooner than the last, she came up with a solution she feared would be the only one. She gave it some more time so she could find other options, but she didn__'__t have much time. Though it saddened her, she picked out a replacement to be in charge of the school she founded. With the last of her power, she created a strong barrier around the basement so that none but the guard could get through, and she forced her soul out. Her soul had become a beautiful glass jewel filled to the brim with the purest of spiritual energy. It was later called the __'__Shikon Jewel__'…_

…_Later it was confirmed that the __'__Shikon Jewel__'__ was placed in the hands of the demon slayers clan for protection after the burial of the great priestess Midoriko__…_

…_The Jewels power was that it would merge with a priestess with about the same amount of power as Midoriko, or greater, and with the very same good will; the will to protect, as Midoriko. There has been very few of these. The ones that have been fused with the jewel have often been referred to as a __'__key__'…_

…_Some time later, it was realized that the __'__key__'__ meant that only together; the priestess and the Shikon Jewel were a spiritual __'__key__'__ and they had the power to control the barrier, and that they could freely walk through it, the duty of the bearer of the Jewel is to renew the barrier__…_

Kagome leaned back on her chair and closed the book. She would read the rest later. Though she felt she went over every important part. _'__So that__'__s why I was called a __'__key__'__ before__…__wait a minute. If I__'__m this __'__key__'__, then I__'__m in charge of the barrier? But I can__'__t every recognize one, I just learned to put one on my mind, never mind my body! Or even someone else__'__s for that matter__'_she thought in a panic.

Then, as if a light in the dark, there was a knock at the front door. It pulled her out of her frantic trance, and she quickly made her way down the stairs.

Opening the door, Kagome's eyes landed on a girl that looked roughly two years younger than herself, and old man in monks attire. Unlike her grandfathers traditional shrine garments, this mans robe was dark blue with a brown sash type cloth wrapped around him. The girl, like Kagome, wore regular clothes.

The older gentleman was the first to speak up. "Do you have a room available?"

Confusion struck her. Did her house look like a hotel? She didn't think so. "Um, if you continue down the street at the bottom of the stairs you might find a hotel-"

"That's what I suggested. But he insisted we stay at a shrine" said the younger girl.

'_What would mom do?'_ Kagome mentally thought to herself.

"He says that shrines have the least possible chance of a demon attacking…" the girl continued.

'_Yes'_ her grandfather would say without a moments hesitation. "Well, I guess it's okay" _'If anything goes wrong I have Inuyasha to protect me' _she thought with a wry grin.

The moment she agreed Kagome could almost swear that she saw a peculiar glint in the old monks eyes. She shrugged it off, figuring it was nothing.

Kagome awkwardly lead them to the living room. "Well. You two can sit here; enjoy yourselves…I'll go make some tea."

The two guests sat down on the couch and began talking with each other as Kagome started making the tea in the kitchen.

Being in the era that they were in the microwave was used more than the kettle, so that is what she used to warm up the water. Standing in front of the microwave her mind began to wander. Things like where Inuyasha's current location was, how her brother was doing, why her mother needed to leave, that sort of thing.

The beep of the microwave brought her to reality. She opened the door and pulled out the steaming cups. They were left on the counter temporarily as she went to fetch the teabags.

Kagome walked into the living room where her guests had made themselves comfortable. She served the tea.

"Oh, I'm sorry" the girl started. "I'm Nazuna. And this is my grandfather."

"It's nice to meet you, Nazuna. I'm Kagome." She let out an awkward laugh from the rather late introduction.

"Is there anyone else living here?" the old man asked for conversations sake.

"Yes; my family, but they're all out right now" Kagome replied with a bit of sadness.

"I see. You're sure there is no one here?" he asked again.

Kagome paused and looked at him, wondering why he would ask a second time. "Yes I'm sure. There is no one but me here now." She couldn't help but lie. I probably wasn't a good idea to tell the old monk that a half demon now lives with her.

Kagome looked up at the clock. It read quarter to nine. _'Just how much time did I spend reading that book?'_ she thought. "Well I should probably get some blankets for you two" she said as she got up to go find some.

After the old man and Nazuna were tucked in and fast asleep, Kagome turned off all lights and went to her bedroom. She wanted to call for Inuyasha but she told the old monk that she was the only one. Before long she was sound asleep in her bed.

She only got a few hours of sleep before and alarm went off in her head and her eyes shot open. Oddly enough, what she saw when she woke up was not her plain white ceiling, but a clean, shinny chefs knife headed for her face. (A.N: Kids this is why we don't talk to strangers ^_^)

Kagome screamed and rolled away from it and whoever was holding the knife. Her poor pillow was chopped open and the insides of her pillow were floating about. After it settled, Kagome saw the one holding the knife was Nazuna.

"Nazuna? Why are you doing this?" Kagome shouted, dodging another swing of the knife.

It was only a glimpse, but Kagome saw that Nazuna's eyes were glazed over. Kagome burst though her bedroom door and ran down the stairs. "She's possessed!" she cried.

She headed for the door but stopped dead in her tracks. "What is that?" she mumbled. Throughout her kitchen, living room, and entrance was this web. She attempted to tear it down, but the attempt backfired. Not only was the web strong, but it was sharp, her hand was cut. She whirled her head around to face the stairs. She heard the heavy footsteps of Nazuna getting closer. Kagome's eyes widened in fear.

She had half a mind to call for Inuyasha, but he wasn't here. She probably scared him off. She would have pouted longer but she didn't have time. She started to worm through it slowly as to not get cut. She didn't get in very far when Nazuna got to the bottom of the steps, and she was wasting no time swinging that knife like a baseball bat. Luckily for Kagome, even that knife couldn't cut through the web. It was good and bad. Bad because she couldn't get through, good because the possessed homicidal maniac behind her couldn't either.

Then her luck shifted for the worse. The web between Nazuna and Kagome made a clear path.

"No fair" she whined.

Nazuna walked towards her.

"No." Kagome tried backing up as much as she could. Nazuna lifted the knife above her head. "NO!" Kagome screamed as she covered her face with her arms.

A bright light filled the room, blinding Nazuna. When Kagome opened her eyes, she noticed that all the web had been purified. She took this opportunity to escape. She threw open the door and sprinted out of it. She searched frantically for a place to hide, then her eyes landed on the well house. She made a beeline for it and rushed inside. She slammed it shut and braced it. It was dark inside, because the little house had no windows.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

Kagome didn't need her sight to know who that was. "What do you mean 'What am I doing here'? First of all, this is my house, second, why are you here? You should be out there, doing what you said you would!"

"And what is that?" he asked smugly.

"Protecting me! That's why you're allowed to stay here!" she fought back.

"What's your problem? You're acting like-"

A sharp kitchen knife cut him off. It had been hammered through the door and cut Kagome's arm. She screamed when the knife was removed from her arm and the door, bringing in very little light. As her blood oozed out of her arm she squinted her eyes. She could so far see Inuyasha's figure. As her eyes got used to the dark, she noticed something very different.

"Inuyasha…Your hair; it's black"

"Hmph. So what if it- Kagome get away from the door!" he shouted pulling her towards him. Suddenly it got dark and Inuyasha cry of pain was heard. This knocked him off balance and he fell down the well, with Kagome in tow. Kagome's landing was a little softer than Inuyasha's, because she landed on top of him. He groaned underneath her.

"Inuyasha are you okay?" _'Stupid question. We fall down a well and has a high school girl land on him' _she thought dumbly. She fully expected to hear a smart remark, or at the very least something insulting, but there was nothing. He didn't answer her. "Inuyasha? Inuyasha!" Now she was panicking. Inuyasha wasn't answering, she was injured, he might have been, and it was dark. Her adrenaline was definitely working.

A bright pink barrier had formed on top of the well. The area was well lit now and she could see why Inuyasha was so quiet. There was yellowish foam coming out of a stab wound. "Inuyasha…?" she whimpered as tears now poured from her eyes.

His eyes cracked open and he looked over to her. "Why…are you crying?" he barely asked.

"Why am I crying? Look at yourself. You're badly hurt…it's my fault. If I hadn't let those people stay" she confessed. "And now, you've been poisoned."

He couldn't move much, but he leaned his head to the side until it was touching her knee.

"Inuyasha?" she questioned, trying to wipe her tears away.

"Can…I rest my head on your lap. The ground isn't very comfortable" he asked, a little pink touching his cheeks.

Kagome already felt guilty enough as it was, so this was the least she could do. She lifted his head and put it on her lap. He let out a content sigh. She didn't know what else to do and her heart hurt every time she looked at his foaming wound. Not wanting to look at it anymore, she put her hand on his chest; covering the injury.

Nazuna was trying to get in as well as another creature. Kagome assumed it was the one that poisoned Inuyasha.

Hours passed and Kagome passed out with her hand still on Inuyasha's wound, but her barrier was still strong. As she continued to sleep, Inuyasha woke up. He looked up at her tear stained face.

"Silly girl. Falling asleep in a situation like this" he said as he wiped her tears away. He sat up and faced her. Looking up he made note of the two up there and the still strong barrier that protected them.

He looked down at his chest. He felt fine and the wound had healed. Her strong spiritual power had healed him. He looked back at her saddened expression; a blush again crept onto his face. "Thanks. For saving me." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. He leaned back on the other side of the well and decided to wait for the sun to come up.

Kagome started to wake up as the sun was coming up. The first thing she saw was Inuyasha transforming back into his half demon self.

"Good morning, sunshine" he said sarcastically.

"Huh?" Was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"There's no need for your barrier anymore."

"What? Oh…" She thought for a moment before she realized that she didn't know how to take it down, she didn't know how she put it there to begin with. "Um…I don't know how?"

"What do you mean you don't know how?" Inuyasha screamed at her.

Kagome rose to her feet so she was on equal footing. "I mean exactly that! I don't even know how it got there!"

"You can't be serious!"

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, their arguing made Kagome's adrenaline calm down, and the barrier disappeared; but the two were busy with their heated argument to notice.

They both went silent when a chefs knife landed between them. Before any more sharp and, or pointy objects could be hurled at them, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around her waist and leapt upwards.

Kagome was surprised when they got to the top, while Inuyasha was just disgusted. At the top waiting for them was the possessed Nazuna, and transformed monk. The old monk that accompanied Nazuna to this shrine had undergone an ugly transformation. He had a series of spider legs that had grown out of his back. His face was also changed for the worse. His eyes were bulged, and he had two fangs showing, but what gave Kagome the most uneasy feeling was the bundle of threadlike web coming out.

"Is that web controlling Nazuna…?" Kagome wondered out loud.

"Probably" Inuyasha confirmed.

He landed gently on the well and catapulted himself with Kagome in tow out the small well house. The morning was bright and beautiful. The only thing that marred the beauty was the intricate web that laced itself around the property. This meaning that the pair didn't get very far until they were tangled. Thankfully, Inuyasha was back to his half demon self, so he easily cut himself and Kagome free.

"We have to sever the web on Nazuna" Kagome informed, though it sounded more like a demand.

"Why should we? I only promised to protect you, not some random stranger" Inuyasha barked back.

"Do it! Or I'll say it!"

Inuyasha knew very well what word she was referring to, and he dreaded it. "F-fine."

Getting to Nazuna wasn't very difficult, because the spider demon favoured sending her out to kill the two. Inuyasha easily knocked her new weapon out of her hands and freed her of the web attached to her.

"Hm? Oh, it's morning" she said with a yawn. "Wh-What am I doing outside?"

"What a kind thing for you to do. Freeing the human from my control" said the old spider demon as he walked out of the well house.

"Grandfather, when did you wa-" Nazuna started. "What are you…?" she finished with a whisper.

"Your grandfather is dead. I devoured him long ago" he said with a wry grin.

Nazuna looked at Kagome and Inuyasha for some form of lie, or that maybe this was a very bad dream. But this felt all too real. She noticed the blood on Inuyasha's shirt.

"Wh-what happened?"

"Yes. I too am wondering why you are still alive. The poison should have killed you" the spider monk said, knowing full well that wasn't what Nazuna meant.

"None of yer damn business!"

"Why are you doing this?" Nazuna cried.

"Why? If there's no 'key', the 'lock' will break. So I'll just destroy the key."

Kagome was already put on the ground and was by Nazuna's side ready to help her in anyway she could.

The spider had shot a series of web at Inuyasha, to which, he had dodged gracefully and he and rushed to him to finish the job. But the stubborn demon tried to stop him by using his web. This did not succeed in stopping him, but he did manage to slow him down. Soon enough, the old man spider demon was brutally slashed to pieces. Even though the threat was now gone, there was still the problem of Nazuna.

She was sitting in the middle of the shrine in her most vulnerable position. The fact that her grandfather was devoured by a demon and that she had been traveling with that demon may have been too much of a shock. Kagome was on her knees next to her, stroking her back, trying to comfort her.

"Alright, you can leave now" Inuyasha said, breaking the silence.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome was shocked that he would say something so heartless.

"So the old man was eaten by a demon. There's nothing you can do about it. Get over it."

"Inuyasha! Why are you being-"

"No, he's right. I won't accomplish anything like this. I need be stronger, but, uh…first I need to find somewhere to stay."

"Then you can stay here" Kagome volunteered.

"There's no way she's staying here!" Inuyasha rejected the idea like it was the worst thing in the world.

"She has nowhere to go, and she's already here. And it's really no trouble!" Kagome defended.

Nazuna sat there, waiting. The outcome of their newest argument determined what would happen to her. The little fight between the two didn't get to finish, but the outcome was quickly decided. Nazuna was picked up like a sack of potatoes by Inuyasha, and were off. Kagome was left in silence.

"I-Inuyasha! Get back here!" But he was long gone. Far away, and safe from the feared 'sit' command.

When he came back he didn't tell Kagome what he had done with the younger girl, no matter how much she pestered and begged. She found out later on at school in the cafeteria. Apparently, Nazuna was now a new student at their school in grade nine. Inuyasha had made a visit to his old 'friend' Totosai, who was glad to take her in.

_**The end of that episode.**_

_**Runningshadow135 - You bring up a good point, and you just gave me an idea for a chapter, so thank you, as for what happened to the Shikon Jewel, that would be in chapter 2, and well, this chapter. Any more info will have to wait, heh heh. Thank you for the review. ^_^**_


	8. Chapter 8: Training and Flashbacks

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own the characters of **__**'**__**Inuyasha**__**'**__**.**_

**Chapter Eight: Training and Flashbacks**

Inuyasha, playing the tattletale, had sentenced Kagome to another long and treacherous training period. He had informed Kaede that she had made a barrier over the well. He was sure to leave out that he was human for most of the experience.

The poor girl had to struggle between school, taking care of the house; since she and Inuyasha were the only two living there at the moment, and training to become a better, stronger priestess. Souta was still, happily, staying at Sango's place, no one really minded.

Kagome never mentioned it, but the body of the spider demon was nowhere to be found. She left it alone for one day and it disappeared. It remained a mystery to her.

Inuyasha's days were also repetitive, well, except that first day. He had taken the body away. He figured it would cause more problems for Kagome when her family came back. He didn't want Kagome to find out, because he did it for her. _For_ her. He didn't have to but he did. Knowing that made him feel stupid.

Because of this unusual selfless act, he decided to wait at the shrine, in the sacred tree. He thought back to the last woman he cared enough to do such things.

_=50 years earlier=_

Inuyasha was carrying the bundle of food for Kikyo, and were heading back to her place. It wasn't very big, but then it didn't need to be. At the start it was just Kikyo and her little sister living there. The small house was on the edge of the town. The town wasn't very big either. It stayed small as the rest of the world continued to grow at a fast rate.

Kikyo and Kaede's parents had passed on a few years earlier, and Kaede was to move to her older sister's house. Kikyo was against it though. Kikyo had already merged with the Shikon Jewel, and was constantly targeted. As much as Kikyo begged for Kaede to chose some other place, the young girl wanted to face the dangers with Kikyo. In the end, the one to give in was Kikyo, and Kaede was staying with her.

Inuyasha, being a half demon, never knew about any 'key' or the Shikon Jewel in general, but he did feel slightly drawn to Kikyo. He assumed it was love at first sight, and decided to pursue her. Kikyo was stubborn when it came to love, because she was a priestess and was determined to remain pure, but Inuyasha didn't give up.

Eventually he succeeded; mostly, so far he was just living with her.

Before they reached the house, they were ambushed by a horde of demons. Most of them were insect demons; low class, but still pretty big. They rest were ogre types.

Inuyasha dropped the bundle and leapt up, bringing his sharp claws down on them. As Inuyasha brawled with them, Kikyo used her long bow and purified (A.N: heh heh, puri_fried_ is more like it.) them on the spot. Only after Inuyasha ripped ones arms off did the others run off.

"Hmph. Why are they always after you?" Inuyasha asked.

Every time Inuyasha asked this question, Kikyo would always give him a sweet smile. She didn't like hiding it from him, but she was afraid he would turn on her once he found out.

"Let's get back. Kaede's probably hungry" she pushed.

Inuyasha didn't press the subject because once he saw that sweet smile, he would just melt.

"It'll be faster if we do this" he said as he picked her up, and the food that he dropped and he leapt to her place.

He set her down in front of the door, because he knew exactly what was waiting on the other side. Kikyo opened the front door. Kaede was waiting for that moment and she jumped into her arms.

"Sister Kikyo, are you going to practice with me?" Kikyo wasn't home very often, so Kaede looked forward to the archery that they did together.

"As much as you want" Kikyo replied.

Inuyasha had a neglected look on his face. Kaede looked at him and stuck out her tongue. Kikyo left Inuyasha to put the things away and went outside to practice with Kaede.

"Is that half breed being nice?" Kaede asked. She didn't really like Inuyasha because ever since he came she had to share her time with Kikyo.

"Kaede! That isn't nice" scolded Kikyo.

"I can't help it. I don't trust him."

"He didn't choose to be that way."

"Hmph!" Kikyo was right, of course. But that didn't stop Kaede from pouting.

"Kaede. It's almost time" Kikyo started when she was sure that Inuyasha couldn't hear them.

"Hm?"

"I don't have enough power…" Kikyo was starting to sound worried.

"What to you mean?" Kaede didn't like where this was going.

"The barrier in the school needs to be redone. The Shikon Jewel within me can sense it" she said placing a hand on her chest.

"Yes, but the Jewel chose you because you have enough power" Kaede said sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

"Yes. You're right" Kikyo finished with a sad smile.

The next day, Kikyo, Kaede and Inuyasha left in the morning to the school. Kikyo was in her last year, and Kaede was in elementary. Inuyasha didn't attend there but he enjoyed bringing them to and from school.

After her morning class, Kikyo had free period. She often went to the basement to keep things under control.

"Good morning, doctor" she greeted.

"Kikyo. You know I'm not a doctor anymore, I'm a counsellor, and you don't need to be formal. Just call me Suikotsu."

"I'm sorry" she said as she got out her bow. She often left it here because of how often she went down.

Unknown to her as she descended was Suikotsu's studying eyes. Before she disappeared from his sight he licked his lips and grinned. Once she was completely down, she put her hands on the wall and pushed her spiritual power into the vines to activate the spiritual power already there. Soon the basement was lit by the many buds on the walls and ceiling.

She wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She felt so powerless, she had the will to take on these demons, but her power was just barely the same amount as Midoriko's, she almost couldn't compare. She wanted the power to defend the school and the town around it, but she knew that once she renewed the barrier, she would lose her life, like priestess' before her.

There was a strong demon presence roaming this floor. With an arrow drawn, Kikyo stepped forward with caution. The glowing buds, made it visible enough to walk properly, but the lit seemed very eerie when you were hunting something that was possibly stronger than you.

She followed the presence to a room. Inside was the demon. He was pale and thin and he had dark hair. He appeared distracted, so Kikyo took aim. She let her power flow through the arrow, and fired. It flew into the room. The demon noticed Kikyo's presence and the last second and narrowly dodged the arrow. He turned his head sharply. His bright orange eyes bore into her.

"You're the one who put me here…" he said.

"What are you talking about?" Kikyo asked as she had another arrow pointed at him.

"KEY! Free my brethren!" he said as he made a mental rush for her.

Kikyo made a barrier around herself and her mind. She used her barrier to push him back, further into the room. She backed away and closed the door. Kikyo felt inside that he was trying to infiltrate her mind.

"A demon that goes after the mind…" She put her strongest spiritual lock on the door so that what was inside would never come out. "I don't wish for you to suffer in this basement, so I will kill you now" she said as she channelled her power into the arrow that was lodged in the wall inside the room. The room was filled with pure energy and the body of the demon was purified into dust.

Kikyo slid down to her knees. Sweat rolled down her face. "That's the last one put away or killed." She used her bow to help her stand up and she made her way to the stairs. She lowered the energy in the vines, so the buds glow died down.

At the top of the stairs, she wobbled and Suikotsu immediately grabbed her shoulders.

"You okay?"

Kikyo smiled. "I'm fine" she said as she got away from him. She put her bow away and left the room.

"No you're not" Suikotsu said as he left after her. Kikyo walked to the nurses office and stayed there for her lunch hour. Suikotsu followed her until she was inside the nurses office, then he gave up and went back to his office.

After school, Kikyo went to wait by Inuyasha, who just wanted to leave Kaede behind. Kikyo wouldn't let that happen. Kaede ran to Kikyo and the three went back to their home.

From inside the school building, Suikotsu watched as Kikyo and her younger sister left with Inuyasha. "Half breed doesn't deserve her" he said through grit teeth.

After everyone had finished eating the food that Kikyo had made the phone rang. Kaede jumped up and answered it.

"Hello?…Yes…Okay. Sister Kikyo it's for you" Kaede called.

Kikyo rose to her feet and walked over to the phone. When she grabbed the phone, Kaede mouthed the words 'It's the head of the counsel'. Kikyo nodded and Kaede left to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha. Help me practice."

"What no!" Inuyasha flat out rejected the idea. He looked over to Kikyo who smiled at him, and gave him the 'thank you' look. Inuyasha dropped his head. "Fine."

Once the two were outside, Kikyo answered quietly. "Yes?"

"Is it finished?"

"Yes. They are all secured."

"You know what to do now. don't put it off, it needs to be done as soon as possible. If the barrier is broken, the whole town will be at risk."

"I know."

"Good luck."

The line went dead after that. Kikyo put the phone down and stood there in silence. Hours later, after Kaede went to bed, Kikyo and Inuyasha sat on the only couch in the house.

"Inuyasha…" she started. She bite her bottom lip.

"What's wrong?"

Kikyo smiled at him. "If anything happens to me, can you take care of Kaede?"

"What do you mean? What going to happen?" Inuyasha was getting worried.

"If anything happens, will you?"

"Yes. But you're the one taking care of her."

"Yes. Thank you."

It was getting late so they both decided to turn in for the night. Around the middle of the night, there was a knock at the door. Inuyasha heard it before anyone else woke up, so he answered it.

"Don't you know that normal people are sleeping at this hour?" he said when the door was open.

"I'm sorry. My name is Suikotsu. I was wondering if I could speak with Kikyo."

"No. She's sleeping" Inuyasha stated bluntly.

"I see. I was hoping to persuade her not to go through with it" Suikotsu said thoughtfully.

"Go though with what?"

Suikotsu's eyes brightened slightly. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"You must be only one in this entire town that doesn't know. I would have thought that Kikyo would tell you at least" Suikotsu continued.

"Know what?" Inuyasha had lost his patience and had started shouting.

"There's no need to yell. I'll tell you" he started.

Inuyasha stood in the doorway shocked that he didn't know something this important. Kikyo was this 'key' and there was a barrier inside the school that she was in charge of, it was a lot to take in.

"She has to redo it, and it will most likely kill her, as it did all those before her. It really is a shame" he finished.

"She's not doing it. Now leave this place, I'll persuade her" Inuyasha barked.

Inuyasha closed the door and went back to sleep, scared for Kikyo. The next morning was just like any other. Inuyasha paid close attention to Kikyo just in case. She was being her usual self, but she also seemed kind of sad.

'…_will most likely kill her…'_ Inuyasha clenched his teeth.

He got up and walked past Kaede and he hugged Kikyo. A hug that said 'I don't want to lose you'.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Kikyo questioned. Inuyasha didn't have it in him to say anything.

"Sister Kikyo, it's time to go" interrupted Kaede.

"Alright. Inuyasha you're going to have to let me leave" Kikyo said.

Inuyasha had obliged and they were once again off to school. Inuyasha waited outside for them. He watched Kikyo in her class from the window in a tree.

In her free period she had decided to redo the barrier. She wanted to say goodbye to Kaede and Inuyasha but she didn't know how they would take it, and Inuyasha would stop her. She grabbed her bow just in case and went into the basement.

Inuyasha waited for her to come back into view, but she didn't. He panicked and raced into the school. He followed her scent to the basement the door was left open so he didn't waste anytime following the scent down. There was another scent that followed hers.

"Shit" he said.

Suikotsu had followed her down, and now had her pinned to the wall. "I won't let you do it Kikyo!"

"You know I have to, now let me go!" Kikyo struggled against his grip.

"No! I won't let you. I love you, Kikyo. Don't die for the barrier" he said as he brought himself closer.

"Get off of her!" Inuyasha burst in and threw Suikotsu against the opposite wall. Inuyasha ran towards him with his claws out and attempted to tear him in half. Suikotsu had his 'claws' out quickly and blocked Inuyasha's savage attack.

"I'm not the guradian for nothing."

"Inuyasha…" Kikyo said quietly. "How are you here? Only the guardian and the one with the Jewel can be down here…How?"

As Kikyo was slowly getting over her shock, Inuyasha was winning, and had eventually made Suikotsu run off out of the basement. He would deal with him later, right now he had to stop Kikyo.

"Kikyo, are you trying to kill yourself?" Inuyasha asked her.

"No. I'm trying to save everyone."

"You're going to give up your life for it? You can't!"

"You can't stop me!"

"Yes I can. And I will" he said as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Inuyasha. Let go of me."

"No! I won't let go, and I won't let you throw your life away."

Kikyo put her hand on the vine covered wall behind her. "You're giving me no other choice" she said coldly.

"Huh?" Just then, the vines picked Inuyasha and laced themselves around his claws so he wouldn't be able to use them. "Kikyo! What are you doing?"

"Making sure you can't stop me" she said as ice started to form on the floor and climb up the wall.

"After all I did for you…Why are you doing this…to…me?" Inuyasha's head hung limply on his neck as the ice stopped forming.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But I have to do this." Kikyo carefully climbed on the ice to reach his face. She put her hand on his cheek and looked at him sadly. She lowered her face and kissed him. _'Goodbye.'_

Kaede walked home, pouting all the way. "Sister Kikyo must've be talked into leaving me behind by Inuyasha" she mumbled. "I'm home" she called as she walked in. The phone started to ring. Kaede ran for in.

"Hello?"

"Are you Kaede?"

"Yes. You're the head of the counsel, right?"

"Yes."

"Um, I don't think my sister's home, but I can check for you."

"No. I need you to do something for me."

"Me? What?"

"I need you to retrieve the Shikon Jewel from the basement of the school."

"Shikon Jewel? But it's in my sister."

"Just go and get it. Then hold onto it until I tell you."

He hung up on Kaede, leaving her confused. This has to be some sort of joke, right? She did it anyway. She went to the school right away. She went into the open basement. It didn't take long for her to find the Jewel. She picked it up, and tears rolled down her face. She looked up to find Inuyasha on the wall; asleep.

Kaede ran out of the school crying. "Sister Kikyo! Sister Kikyo, you can't be!" Inuyasha had been sealed in the basement, and Kikyo was gone, Kaede was alone. When she got home she fell to her knee and bawled as loud as she could. As the tears poured from her eyes, she held onto the Jewel tightly.

_=Present time=_

Kagome skipped up the steps. It was unusual for Inuyasha to stay home, but it was also kind of a relief. She knew where he was so she stood in front of the sacred tree.

"Hey. Inuyasha" she started.

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you get in that basement in the first place?" the question had been in her mind for a while, so she figured she'd ask.

"It's none of your business" he snapped.

"You jerk! SIT!" Inuyasha crashed out of the tree onto the packed dirt below.

"He didn't have to be so rude about it. I was just asking. Jeez" she mumbled as she stormed into the house.

Maybe one day he would tell her, but those chances just keep going down.


End file.
